Armed Forces: Deployment

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for how many months the  (a) 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh (The Royal Welsh Fusiliers),  (b) 1st Battalion The Scots Guards,  (c) 19th Regiment Royal Artillery,  (d) 5th Regiment Royal Artillery and  (e) 39th Regiment Royal Artillery will have been on operational duty at the end of their immediate future tour in Afghanistan over the last 30 months; and how the harmony guidelines are applied to (i) those units and (ii) the armed services in general.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 2 March 2007
	Information on how many months each unit will have been on operational duty at the end of Op. Herrick 6 of the previous 30 months is shown as follows:
	
		
			  Ser  Unit  Months on operations 
			 1 1st Battalion the Royal Welsh 10 
			 2 1st Battalion the Scots Guards 6 
			 3 19 Regiment Royal Artillery 12 
			 4 5 Regiment Royal Artillery 6 
			 5 39 Regiment Royal Artillery 12 
		
	
	Army harmony guidelines are that individuals should not exceed 415 days of separated service in any period of 30 months. At unit level, tour intervals should be no less than 24 months.
	The decision on who should deploy is made by Joint Commitments in consultation with Headquarters Land Command, ratified by the chain of command.
	Royal Navy harmony guidelines are that no individual should exceed 660 days of separated service in a three year rolling period. Over a similar time span, ships or other units should not be deployed for more than 60 per cent. of their time.
	Harmony Guidelines for the RAF are based on formed unit tour intervals rather than individual personnel, whereby formed units, or sub-elements within them should spend four months on deployed operations followed by 16 months at base.
	The RAF Individual Separated Service assumption is that an individual should spend no more than 140 days of duty detached away from home in a rolling 12 month period. This allows for a four-month operational tour followed by three weeks of separated service due to routine tasks, unestablished commitments, unit assistance, pre-detachment training etc.
	These are guidelines only and there will be shorter tour intervals where operational demands require it.

Armed Forces: Families

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many people his Department employs for liaison with the families of armed forces personnel; and what aspects of service life and issues these staff are responsible for dealing with;
	(2)  how much has been spent on family liaison in 2006-07.

Derek Twigg: The welfare and community support of service personnel and their families is core MOD business. This includes family liaison, which has always been exercised by personnel who have command responsibility as an integral part of their duties.
	Each of the three services has robust structures in place to support and liaise with families and service individuals; the support offered is wide-ranging tailored to the requirements of the individual concerned. Examples of this include the support provided to families when the service spouse is deployed on operations. In such circumstances, units organise families' briefing sessions, coffee mornings, crèches and community social events. Assistance is also provided to enable families to keep in touch with their loved ones through the provision of publicly funded internet and email terminals at local community and education centres.
	Specialist charitable organisations such as the Soldiers', Sailors' and Airmans' Families Association and the Army Welfare Service are also available to offer assistance. Services offered overseas include the running of the confidential helpline and the provision of contracted community support, some medical care and social work elements. In the UK, they may come into contact with families for a whole host of reasons. The issues dealt with span, the full spectrum of service and private life that may affect individuals or families from time to time.

Armed Forces: Housing

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many properties his Department leases from Annington Homes; where they are located; and how much his Department spent on  (a) leasing and  (b) maintaining and refurbishing them in each year since 1996.

Derek Twigg: As at 25 December 2006 the Ministry of Defence (MOD) leased 41,831 properties from Annington Homes. The contract with Annington Homes was signed on 5 November 1996.
	The service family homes leased from Annington are spread across some 540 sites in England and Wales which serve RAF stations, Army Barracks and Naval bases, as well as Reserve Forces and Cadets Association centres. Some are official residences. A more detailed breakdown of the location of these properties will take more time to collate. I will write to the hon. Member when this has been done and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
	The Ministry of Defence spent the following amounts on leasing family quarters from Annington Homes Ltd.:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 1996 16.80 
			 1997 110.96 
			 1998 109.03 
			 1999 107.87 
			 2000 112.48 
			 2001 115.42 
			 2002 122.34 
			 2003 130.76 
			 2004 130.91 
			 2005 136.43 
			 2006 142.42 
		
	
	Rent was calculated from 5 November 1996 to24 December 1996 for the first year and from25 December to 24 December for each subsequent year.
	The information in respect of maintenance and refurbishment of properties leased from Annington Homes is not available for all years, as it was collected and managed by individual Housing Directorate regions and their contractors in differing formats. However, the MOD spent the following amounts:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2001-02 123.0 
			 2002-03 92.0 
			 2003-04 103.0 
			 2004-05 (1)91.6 
			 2005-06 (1)109.2 
			 (1) Includes upgrade expenditure of £10.2 million (2004-05) and£21.1 million (2005-06) although some of this may have been expended on houses still owned by the MOD.

Armed Forces: Officers

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many officers who attended the Higher Command Staff Course in each year between 1997 and 2006 remained in the armed services 12 months later; and how many are still in the armed services.

Derek Twigg: The following table shows the number of officers who attended the Higher Command Staff Course between the years of 1997 to 2006; those who remained in the armed services 12 months later; and those who are still serving as at 1 January 2007.
	
		
			  Year of course  Number attended course  Still serving after 12 months  Still serving as at 1 January 2007 
			 1997 20 20 10 
			 1998 20 20 10 
			 1999 20 20 10 
			 2000 20 20 15 
			 2001 25 25 20 
			 2002 20 20 15 
			 2003 20 20 20 
			 2004 25 25 20 
			 2005 25 25 20 
			 2006 25 n/a 25 
			 Grand total 220 n/a 170 
			 n/a = Not applicable.  Note: All numbers are rounded to nearest five. Due to the rounding methods used, totals may not equal the sum of the parts.

Departments: Equal Opportunities

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has a gender  (a) strategy and  (b) equality action plan in place.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 5 March 2007
	The Ministry of Defence has a unified philosophy towards equality and diversity. In support of this approach the MOD Diversity Panel, co-chaired by the Permanent Under Secretary (PUS), and the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and which includes a mix of internal and external members who have a range of experience in diversity issues, have endorsed a Unified Diversity Strategy. This strategy provides the strategic framework and incorporates our Diversity Vision; Diversity Mission; Objectives; Working in Partnership; Taking Responsibility; Complying with the Legislation; communicating and Building Commitment; Measuring Progress and the Business Case for Diversity.
	In April 2006, we published our first overarching MOD Equality and Diversity Scheme 2006-2009, together with a set of Action Plans for 2006-07. The Scheme encompasses the armed forces, civilians, the Ministry of Defence police and our executive agencies. This Scheme reflects not only the Department's statutory duties in respect of race, disability and gender but also those diversity strands not yet covered by specific public sector duties (age, sexual orientation and religion and belief).
	Our first annual Action Plan included our gender equality priorities. We will be publishing a report against the targets that we set for 2006-07 later in the year as well as issuing a new Action Plan for 2007-08. The Defence Analytical Services Agency will, be collecting statistical data on the recruitment, retention and progression of women. The aim of all this work is to achieve real improvement in outcomes for the various diversity groups.
	Copies of the documents referred to are available in the Library of the House, and also at:
	www.mod.ukyDefenceInternet/AboutDefenceWhatWeDo/Personnel/EqualityAndDiversity/MinistryOfDefenceUnifiedDiversityStrategy.htm
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefenceWhatWeDo/Personnel/EqualityAndDiversity/EqualityAndDiversityScheme20062009.htm
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/What WeDo/Personnel/EqualityAndDiversity/Equality AndDiversityScheme20062009ActionPlan20062007.htm

Departments: Vehicles

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many vehicles belonging to his Department were  (a) lost and  (b) stolen in each year since 1997; and what the (i) make and model and (ii) value was of each vehicle.

Adam Ingram: Vehicles lost and stolen are classed as vehicle 'write offs'. Departmental accounts do not differentiate between specific categories of' 'write off' and therefore the information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Mental Health

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 28 November 2006,  Official Report, column 625W, on mental health, how many  (a) psychologists,  (b) psychiatrists,  (c) mental health nurses and  (d) occupational therapists each service employed; and what assessment he has made of how many are required in each year since 1997.

Derek Twigg: The following tables illustrate the requirement and trained strength figures of uniformed regular psychiatrists and mental health nurses in each service for each year since 1998, all of whom were or are uniformed. Further to the statement on 9 February 2006,  Official Report, column 1402W, and as explained to the hon. Member in a follow-up letter, the figures for 1997 are unavailable.
	In the following tables the figures are for 1 April in that year.
	As stated on 29 January 2007,  Official Report, column 25W, the DMS uniformed regular requirement figures have been reviewed and the new manning requirements for 2007 for all cadres will be formally announced in the near future.
	
		
			  RN psychiatrists 
			   1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Requirement 3 n/a 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 
			 Manning 1 n/a 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 
		
	
	
		
			  RN mental health nurses 
			   1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Requirement n/a n/a 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 
			 Manning 10 n/a 13 10 10 18 29 24 21 
		
	
	
		
			  Army psychiatrists 
			   1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Requirement 11 n/a 25 25 25 17 15 17 1.5 
			 Manning 8 n/a 8 6 6 6 5 7 6 
		
	
	
		
			  Army mental health nurses 
			   1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Requirement n/a n/a 76 76 76 50 48 61 53 
			 Manning 42 n/a 36 38 41 39 42 43 43 
		
	
	
		
			  RAF psychiatrists 
			   1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Requirement 4 n/a 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 
			 Manning 4 n/a 5 4 3 3 4 4 5 
		
	
	
		
			  RAF mental health nurses 
			   1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Requirement n/a n/a 30 27 27 38 38 38 38 
			 Manning 24 n/a 26 31 29 30 31 33 33 
			 n/a = Indicates that it was not possible to determine the figure from the recovered archived files.  Source: DMSD 
		
	
	Mental health occupational therapists are now not employed by the MOD. Our current community-based mental health provision is occupationally orientated and aims to manage patients in their work/home environment. This is done by a multi-disciplinary team consisting of psychiatrists, mental health nurseswith access to both clinical psychologists and mental health social workers. The employment of specific occupational therapists is no longer necessary.
	The MOD employed mental health occupational therapists up until 2003 at the Duchess of Kent Psychiatric Hospital. The mental health occupational therapists that were employed were civilian. The records for the numbers of mental health occupational therapists could be recovered without disproportionate effort.
	The MOD also employs civilian clinical psychologists, psychiatrists and mental health nurses.

Navy: Military Bases

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 19 February 2007,  Official Report, column 218W, what estimate was made in November 2003 of the date when the contract would be awarded.

Adam Ingram: When the future provision of marine services invitation to negotiate was issued in November 2003, the estimated date for award of contract wasMay 2005.

Nuclear Disarmament

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 8 January 2007,  Official Report, column 98W to the hon. Member for North Devon (Nick Harvey) on nuclear disarmament, what progress the UK has made on Step  (a) 6 and  (b) 9 of the 13 Steps agreed at the 2000 Nuclear non-proliferation Treaty review conference; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: The UK continues to support and make progress against the '13 Steps' agreed at the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference 2000, which are applicable to the UK. We continue to reiterate our unequivocal undertaking to accomplish the total elimination of our nuclear arsenal leading to nuclear disarmament as required under 'Step 6', most recently expressed by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva last month. With regards to 'Step 9', we have undertaken several unilateral steps towards nuclear disarmament including reductions in warhead numbers, increased transparency by publishing historical accounting records of our defence fissile material holdings and significant reductions of the operational status of our nuclear weapons system. We have also pursued a widely welcomed programme to develop UK expertise in methods and technologies that could be used to verify nuclear disarmament.
	Finally, we have pressed consistently for early entry into force of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and the commencement of negotiations, without preconditions, of a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty in the Conference on Disarmament.

Nuclear Disarmament

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for North Devon of 8 January 2007,  Official Report, column 98W, on nuclear disarmament, what the  (a) evidential and  (b) treaty basis is for describing the UK's announced reduction to 160 operational nuclear warheads as disarmament.

Des Browne: The planned reduction in the maximum number of operationally available warheads to fewer than 160, announced in December last year represents a 20 per cent. decrease from the previously declared maximum number. I intend that this reduction will take place this year. This reduction is pertinent to the UK's obligations under the nuclear non proliferation treaty and means that, since coming to power in 1997, the Government will have reduced the overall explosive power of the UK's nuclear arsenal by around 75 per cent.

Service Personnel: Medical Conditions

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many servicemen who returned from  (a) Iraq and  (b) Afghanistan after active duty injured in each year since 2003 are now registered blind or partially sighted;
	(2)  how many  (a) servicemen and  (b) reserve servicemen returned injured during active duty in (i) Iraq and (ii) Afghanistan and were registered disabled in each year since 2003.

Derek Twigg: Comprehensive data regarding injuries and disabilities is not held centrally, and could only be established at disproportionate cost by examining the personal medical file of every current and former Service man and woman, which would additionally require the permission of all individuals.
	However, Defence Analytical Services Agency (DASA) do compile data on medical discharges, based on Medical Board recommendations. The table below presents a tri-Service total number of medical discharges among UK regular Service Personnel in 2003 and 2004 for all eye-related disorders and injuries suffered worldwide. Data for 2005 and 2006 are still being validated and are not ready for release.
	
		
			  Medical Discharges UK Regular Armed Forces( 1) 
			   Primary cause of medical discharge 
			   Disorders of the eye and adnexa  Injury of the eye orbit 
			 2003 15 <5 
			 2004 25 <5 
		
	
	
		
			   Other causes of medical discharge with disorders of the eye 
			   Of which: secondary to a head injury  Of which: secondary to other conditions 
			 2003 <5 <5 
			 2004 <5 <5 
			 (1 )Excludes untrained naval service ratings.  Notes: 1. In accordance with DASA policy, figures are rounded to the nearest 5. 2. Figures below 5 are marked as <5 in order to preserve personal confidentiality. 
		
	
	Medical discharges can take place some time after the injury or disease is diagnosed. DAS A are currently carrying out a 10 year validation exercise on all medical discharge information held, and updating relevant records. The data used for this answer are taken from a historical dataset for 1995-2004, and the figures presented therefore may be subject to change.

Trident: Contracts

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the first contracts were placed with US contractors on behalf of his Department, underthe Polaris Sales Agreement, for work related to the Trident D5 Life Extension programme; and what the total value was of those contracts.

Des Browne: No order has yet been placed with the US authorities for procurement of Trident D5 Life Extension on behalf of the UK.

Conditions of Employment: Parents

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures his Department has in place to allow working parents to take paid leave in order to look after their children when they are ill.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Staff in the Department have the right to take up to five days' paid special leave in order to deal with an emergency involving a dependant or to make longer term arrangements for coping with such emergencies. In addition staff can apply for special unpaid leave.

Energy: Lancashire

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much was spent on  (a) electricity and  (b) gas by the average household in Lancashire in each of the last 10 years.

Malcolm Wicks: Average fuel bills are only available for gas and electricity distribution regions. The average domestic bills for the North West(1) are shown in the following table. The data shown are for standard credit customers in cash terms, they have not been adjusted for inflation.
	(1) Lancashire is contained in the North West region for gas and electricity.
	
		
			  £ 
			   Electricity( 1)  Bill  Gas Bill 
			 1997(2) 283 328 
			 1998 260 314 
			 1999 257 304 
			 2000 249 295 
			 2001 239 294 
			 2002 237 309 
			 2003 235 317 
			 2004 243 330 
			 2005 270 383 
			 2006 327 473 
			 (1) The bills for standard electricity do not include customers who are on economy 7 tariffs. (2) Regional average bills are not available prior to 1998. The Electricity average bill given for 1997 is for England and Wales. The average bill shown for gas in 1997 is for Great Britain.  Note: Data are derived from the DTI's quarterly survey of domestic energy supply companies. Bills relate to the total bill including VAT in cash terms received during the calendar year. For electricity an annual consumption of 3,300 kWh is used, whilst the equivalent figure for gas is 18,000 kWh.

Energy: Small Businesses

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps  (a) his Department and  (b) Ofgem have taken to improve the level of protection for small business consumers in the energy market.

Malcolm Wicks: The existing level of regulatory protection in respect of gas and electricity broadly reflects that in general consumer law. It is open to Ofgem to consider whether additional regulatory protection is required. I understand that the Chairman of Ofgem will write to the hon. Member about the information she has sought.

Industrial Diseases: Compensation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what advice he has given on probate matters to claimants for deceased mineworkers.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 28 February 2007
	Probate advice to claimants is, of course, the responsibility of their representatives. The CHA requires the provision of valid probate documentation before a payment will be made?this ensures that the Department makes valid payments to the correct claimant.
	Occasionally, if requested, the Department will provide standard publicly available information on probate matters in relation to the Schemes.

Industrial Diseases: Compensation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many miners' compensation cases were accepted by his Department as valid claims but subsequently dropped because of probate disputes.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 28 February 2007
	No claims have been dropped by Capita, the Department's claims handler, because of probate disputes. All claims "struck out" to date have either been withdrawn by the Claimant's representative or because they failed to meet cut offs or failed for other reasons.
	It is not usual for the Claimant's representative to attempt to obtain probate until they have had a confirmed acceptance of liability.

Migrant Workers: Pay

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the extent of differences in  (a) pay and  (b) terms and conditions between established and migrant and newly-arrived workers in the UK economy; and what steps his Department is taking to minimise such differences.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Government have not undertaken any specific research on differences in pay, and in terms and conditions between established migrant, and new-arrived workers in the UK. Legislation on employment rights, such as the national minimum wage, does not differentiate between established, migrant and newly arrived workers working legally in the UK.

Rivers: Renewable Energy

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how he applies the Renewable Obligations scheme to river microhydro projects; and whether any changes are planned.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 5 March 2007
	Run of river micro hydro is treated in the same way as all eligible renewables generators whereby they can claim one renewables obligation certificate (ROC) per MW of renewable generation.
	There are proposed changes to the renewables obligation (RO), to come into force in April this year, of which three may have an effect on some micro hydro generators. These are;
	1. To allow agents to act on behalf of small generators in all aspects of RO participation.
	2. To require agents, for the purpose of claiming ROC's, to amalgamate the generation from two or more generators, and
	3. Remove the requirement for sale and buy back agreements for generators.
	There are further longer term changes that are being considered with regards to "banding" the RO so that different renewable technologies receive differing levels of ROC's per MW of generation dependent on the technologies need. A public consultation on the level of the technology bands will be issued on this later in the year.

Science: Expenditure

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of the science budget was spent in  (a) Scotland,  (b) Wales,  (c) England and  (d) Northern Ireland in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 5 March 2007
	Science Budget national expenditure for the period 2001 to 2006 are set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Science Budget national expenditures for the period 2001 to 2006 
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			   £000  %  £000  %  £000  %  £000  %  £000  % 
			  (a) Scotland 162,134 9.0 185,359 9.2 208,604 9.0 234,019 9.7 267,034 9.0 
			  (b) Wales 39,787 2.2 49,605 2.5 49,311 2.1 55,792 2.3 67,002 2.3 
			  (c) England 1,363,412 75.8 1,510,218 75.0 1,702,032 73.7 1,776,909 73.3 2,190,580 74.1 
			  (d) N. Ireland 8,709 0.5 8,482 0.4 12,130 0.5 9,471 0.4 23,171 0.8 
			  (e) Other including overseas, international subscriptions and Research Council central expenditure 223,907 12.5 259,731 12.9 338,800 14.7 346,495 14.3 406,930 13.8 
			 Total(1) 1,797,949 100 2,013,395 100 2,310,878 100 2,422,686 100 2,954,717 100 
			 (1) A small number of minor lines of expenditure where statistics are not collected on a national basis have been excluded from the total. These include funding for the National Academies and for Science and Society activities.  Note: A full breakdown of Research Council national expenditure was provided in the answer given to the hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire on 4 December 2006,  Official Report, column 15.

Wind Power

Peter Atkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he has taken to ensure that the terms of the convention on landscape agreed by the Council of Europe in 2000 are taken into account when determining applications for wind farms.

Malcolm Wicks: The European landscape convention includes measures to
	"establish procedures for the participation of the general public, local and regional authorities, and other parties with an interest in the definition and implementation of landscape policies"
	and
	"to integrate landscape into its regional and town planning policies".
	The Government's policies on planning for renewable energy, including on landscape protection, are set out in planning policy statement (PPS) 22. The PPS is supported by a companion guide which provides practice guidance including on assessing the visual and landscape effects of planning applications for wind turbines.
	Where the application is accompanied by an environmental statement this will, inter alia, include a description of the environment, which includes the landscape, affected by the application, a description of the likely significant effects of the development on the environment and a description of the measures envisaged to prevent, reduce and where possible, offset any significant adverse effects on the environment. These matters will be taken into account when deciding whether or not to approve an application.
	Public consultation is a central part of established plan-making and development control procedures. In particular, the Planning and Compulsory PurchaseAct 2004 requires regional planning bodies andlocal planning authorities to prepare statements of community involvement in which they set their policy on involving their community in preparing regional spatial strategies, local development documents and on consulting on planning applications.

Wind Power: Housing

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2007,  Official Report, column 318W, on Wind Microgenerators, what has been the total Government expenditure on support for domestic wind turbines; and what assessment he has made of the value for money of this expenditure in terms of electricity generated and CO2 emissions avoided.

Malcolm Wicks: Since 2002 the Clear Skies programme has provided support for the installation of a range of renewable technologies including micro wind turbines from 0.5kWp to 25 kWp. The Clear Skies programme approved 208 domestic projects with grant commitment of £866,500. 205 installations have currently been completed (with a total installed capacity of 1,363 kWp), and the total grant spend to date is £851,500.
	The Low Carbon Buildings programme continues to support the installation of domestic wind turbines. Since April 2006, 1,495 applications have been approved (total capacity of 2,923 kWp) and the total grant commitment is £1,736,723. 94 projects have currently been completed (total installed capacity of 477 kWp) and the total grant paid is £243,673.
	The amount of energy produced and carbon saved by installed micro wind turbines will depend on several factors including size, and type of system (building-mounted or pole mounted), location, wind speed, nearby buildings and the local landscape. At the moment there is insufficient data from the existing micro wind installations to provide accurate information on energy yield and carbon savings. In a previous written reply of 31 January 2007,  Official Report, column 318W, I explained that micro wind field trials are about to start and that these trials should provide useful data on the performance of micro wind installations.

Digital Television

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the number of households which will qualifyfor assistance in switching over to digital television in  (a) Leicestershire,  (b) Warwickshire and  (c) Northamptonshire, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Shaun Woodward: The information requested is as follows.
	
		
			  Constituency  Households (defined as eligible benefit units) 
			 Blaby 9,000 
			 Corby 11,000 
			 Daventry 11,000 
			 Harborough 10,000 
			 Kettering 11,000 
			 Leicester East 11,000 
			 Leicester South 10,000 
			 Leicester West 9,000 
			 Loughborough 9,000 
			 North Warwickshire 11,000 
			 North West Leicestershire 11,000 
			 Northampton North 10,000 
			 Northampton South 11,000 
			 Nuneaton 11,000 
			 Rugby and Kenilworth 11,000 
			 Rutland and Melton 10,000 
			 Stratford-on-Avon 12,000 
			 Warwick and Leamington 12,000 
			 Wellingborough 11,000 
			  Notes: 1. Totals for constituencies rounded to the nearest thousand. 2. Eligibility for help from the Digital Switchover Help Scheme will be by benefit unit rather than the whole household definition used by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) the Scottish Executive, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Northern Ireland Office to forecast future household growth. 3. The definition of a benefit unit is a couple and any dependent children. It excludes adults deemed to be non-dependents who, if eligible, will be able to claim assistance from the help scheme in their own right.

Olympic Games: Leicester

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what opportunities there are for businesses in  (a) Leicester and  (b) the East Midlands region to exploit the commercial opportunities of the 2012 Olympic Games.

Richard Caborn: Companies, large and small, in a range of sectors from construction to business services will be needed to deliver the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, creating valuable procurement opportunities across the UK. The London 2012 website (www. london2012.org/en/gettinginvolved/Business/) contains the most up-to-date information about business opportunities, including a new e-tendering facility, advance notice of contracts ahead of tender competitions, and information about past and upcoming business events. The website also allows businesses to register their interest in being a supplier to the Games and sign up to receive e-alerts. 467 businesses from the East Midlands have already signed up for this service.
	Working with London 2012, the London Business Board and other agencies, the East Midlands Development Agency (emda) has played a leading role in the development of the national Business Opportunities Network. The Network will be launched soon and will build upon existing information on the London 2012 website about business opportunities and timelines.
	Businesses in the region will also stand to benefit from the work of the East Midlands Group for the 2012 Games chaired by emda. It will target business opportunities for the region and deliver a business support programme. A regional business opportunities group has also been established to help the region understand how local businesses want to engage with, and contribute to, the Games. It is chaired by one of Leicester's leading lawyers and comprises representatives from business organisations, the construction sector and the Learning and Skills Council.
	Working below the regional level, each county in the region has set up its own steering group. Leicestershire's is chaired by the chief executive of the local sub regional partnership (Leicestershire Economic Partnership) and comprises representatives from across all sectors.

African Union: Peace Keeping Operations

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made on the effectiveness of the Africa standby force; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: Progress towards the establishment of the Africa Standby Force (ASF) is reasonably good, though sustained effort and commitment will be necessary, including by African Union (AU) member states, to ensure that the AU is able to meet its current target of having a fully capable; three brigade ASF in place by 2010.
	DFID is working closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence, through the Africa Conflict Prevention Pool, to provide technical and other assistance to the AU and troop contributing countries in Africa to help achieve this aim.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the prospects for lasting peace and security in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Hilary Benn: The successful elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2006 were a major step forward in securing lasting peace in the DRC. The people of the DRC have a democratically elected President, parliament and provincial assemblies for the first time since 1960. However, the elections are only the first step towards peace and the DRC Government, with co-ordinated support from international partners, will need to tackle several priority issues to maintain the political settlement achieved through the elections and consolidate peace and security:
	Reform of the army, police and justice system, to ensure they provide security for DRC's citizens and legal and peaceful means of addressing grievances and resolving disputes;
	Ensuring the new democratic system as inclusive as possible so that all groups feel their voices are heard and that the Government are accountable; and
	Ensuring that the Government delivers early and tangible benefits to DRC's population.
	I believe that now is a time for cautious optimism for the DRC. Success or failure at sustaining peace ultimately depends on the choice of DRC's politicians, however, the international community can continue to provide vital political, technical and financial support to help increase the chances of success. DFIDhas rapidly increased its support to the DRC, from £5.56 million in 2001-02 to £67 million available this year.

Departments: Energy

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what strategy he has put in place for  (a) the use of renewable energy and  (b) meeting energy targets in his Department's buildings; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: As from December 2006, 100 per cent. of electricity used in DFID's UK buildings is supplied from renewable sources.
	We have recently worked with the Carbon Trust to carry out independent energy audits of our buildings, which have concluded that they are "inherently energy efficient". However, in order to reduce our energy consumption we are currently reviewing options such as the installation of solar thermal panels, wind turbines and combined heat and power units, in order to meet our commitment to the long term targets for energy efficiency and carbon emissions, as set out in the revised sustainable operations targets for the Government Estate announced in June 2006.

Developing Countries: Diseases

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding and resources have been allocated to tackle Yaws disease in developing countries.

Gareth Thomas: The Global Yaws Control programme was launched by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 1948, in collaboration with United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). DFID's unearmarked core contributions of £12.5 million to the WHO and £19 million to UNICEF for the financial year of 2005-06, supports the organisation's efforts to tackle Yaws disease.
	DFID has not provided any specific funding or resources to tackle Yaws disease but is increasingly funding the broader health sector plans of developing countries through poverty reduction budget support and sector wide programming. Such sector programmes will build capacity in health services to diagnose and treat all major causes of illness.
	Currently DFID funds two programmes on neglected diseases-The Global Alliance to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GAELF) who will receive £2.5 million through to 2010 and The African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC) commonly known as river blindness has received £7.6 million to date.
	DFID also supports research and development of drugs for neglected diseases through its £6.5 million support to Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDI) and £4.5 million to the Tropical Disease Research (TDR) special programme in the WHO for research into neglected tropical diseases.

Avian Influenza

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to help other countries to control avian influenza.

Ben Bradshaw: As an international and EU reference laboratory for avian influenza, the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) has responsibility for verifying other countries' test results. The VLA takes a leading role in developing and defining standards and keeps abreast of the latest information. It has frequent discussions with its counterparts overseas and, as a result, is internationally recognised as a centre of excellence in veterinary research.
	Since the H5N1 strain of the virus emerged in South East Asia four years ago, I have had discussions on a regular basis with ministerial counterparts in the EU. Ministers and officials have been actively involved in discussions and the provision of assistance, at an international level, on avian influenza. Examples of this include:
	i. At the pledging conference in Bamako, Mali, on 6 to8 December 2006, the fourth global bird flu summit since late last year, the UK Government committed to assist countries at-risk or affected by avian influenza. The Department for International Development will provide £30 million over the next three years to support country, regional or global activities.
	ii. The UK presidency of the EU in 2005 provided technical support (central research laboratories (CRL) and veterinary assistance) to many countries.
	iii. Under the UK presidency, Commission funds were provided to enable OIE and the International Animal Health Organisation to hold technical programmes on Al in Eastern Europe.
	iv. During our presidency, the UK delegation represented the EU at the international partnership on avian and pandemic influenza on 7 October 2006; and the Geneva partners' meeting on avian and human pandemic influenza on 7 to9 November.
	v. The Government have significantly enhanced the arrangements for surveillance of wild birds, including the investigation of die-offs and sampling at shoots and wetlands. The arrangements have been agreed as part of co-ordinated efforts across the European Union.
	vi. UK research bodies are also keen to collaborate with affected and at-risk countries. The Medical Research Council has a £10 million collaborative programme which can support such partnerships as required.

Pollution Control: Incinerators

Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will issue guidance on the application of the Waste Incineration Directive (WID) to the conversion of a proportion of the burners in a power station to WID compliance with the purpose of burning refuse-derived fuel in those burners only.

Ben Bradshaw: The Waste Incineration Directive (WID) applies to incineration and co-incineration plants and include those where waste is used as a fuel or is disposed of at a plant where energy generation or production is the main purpose. The WID, therefore, only requires an operator to upgrade those facilities at a power station in which waste is handled to WID standards.
	The third edition of DEFRA's guidance on the application of the Directive on the incineration of waste was published in June 2006. We do not intend to provide specific guidance on the conversion of power station burners to burn only refuse-derived fuel. However, the Environment Agency will be happy to discuss the details with any operator wishing to undertake such a conversion.

London Underground: Rolling Stock

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his Minister's letter of 8 February 2007, how he expects the £3.1 billion spending on London Underground's train fleet sub-surface upgrade to be divided between  (a) new trains,  (b) new signalling and  (c) other line/network improvements; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: holding answer 6 March 2007
	Responsibility for London Underground passed to Transport for London and ultimately the Mayor on15 July 2003. Performance and operation of the PPP Contracts is a matter for London Underground (LU). Delivery of the sub-surface line upgrades rests with LU's PPP contractors and they will determine the amounts to be spent on the different elements of the upgrade in order to meet the outcomes described inthe PPP contracts. As I stated in my letter of8 February, about £266 million is being invested in new rolling stock (trains) and £433 million will be invested in new signalling, between 2005 and 2010, significant further investment will occur after 2010. It is not possible to disaggregate other investments such as the on-going station refurbishment programme or track replacement costs from the payments made by London Underground to its PPP contractors.

Motor Vehicles: Registration

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent action he has taken to tackle the misregistration of motor vehicles.

Stephen Ladyman: The Government has introduced a series of new measures to tackle misregistration of vehicles, which can take the form of vehicle cloning or registration of vehicles at incorrect addresses.
	Measures to tackle vehicle cloning include new powers in the Road Safety Act 2006 to extend the regulation of number plate suppliers throughout the UK. Other measures include the introduction in 2006 of a standard for theft resistant number plates and the tightening up of vehicle registration procedures to prevent the use of scrapped vehicles to disguise the identity of stolen vehicles.
	Measures to tackle registration of vehicles at incorrect addresses include identity checks on those registering imported vehicles and liaison with the police on applications from known 'mail—drop' addresses.
	It is now an offence under the Serious Organised Crime Act (2005) to use an incorrectly registered vehicle.

Bombs

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with her  (a) US,  (b) Russian,  (c) Chinese and  (d) Israeli counterparts on the outcome of the Oslo conference on cluster munitions; what the outcome was of those discussions; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: I have not discussed cluster munitions with my US, Russian, Chinese or Israeli counterparts since the Oslo conference (22-23 February). The UK delegation to the conference on disarmament in Geneva has spoken to the aforementioned countries on the outcome of the Oslo conference and on addressing the issue of cluster munitions within the convention on certain conventional weapons. We continue to remain in close contact with these and other interested governments on this important issue.

Colombia: EC Aid

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions her Department had with the Colombian Defence Minister during his recent visit on  (a) UK and  (b) EU support for Plan Colombia, part II; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: My hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Kim Howells, held constructive talks with the Colombian Defence Minister, Juan Manuel Santos, during his recent visit to London. There was no specific mention of Plan Colombia, part II. However, issues discussed during the meeting included the peace process in Colombia and human rights reforms in the Colombian military. My hon. Friend the Minister of State also expressed the UK's continuing support on counter narcotics and stated that the UK was keen to encourage other EU member states to support Colombia in its counter narcotics efforts.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Human Rights

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what her most recent assessment is of the observance of  (a) human rights and  (b) women's rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Ian McCartney: The human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is still poor. Congolese civilians, particularly in eastern DRC, continue to suffer abuses committed by members of the Congolese armed forces and militia groups. A climate of impunity prevails.
	Widespread sexual violence is still prevalent, especially in the east. It is perpetrated mainly by the armed forces and frequently goes unpunished. Representation of women in government, parliament and the commercial sector is still low, despite strong assertion of equal rights in the new constitution. The UK is continuing its efforts to mainstream gender in its development assistance, but the most immediate impact will be felt through bringing about army reform and strengthening the justice sector.
	The UK will continue to remind the DRC authorities of the need to protect the rights of all vulnerable groups and to bring to justice all perpetrators of abuse.

Hissene Habre

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with  (a) the Government of Senegal and  (b) her EU counterparts on the trial of the former president of Chad Hissene Habre and potential EU assistance in that trial.

Ian McCartney: The UK has regular consultations with EU colleagues on the progress of Hissene Habre's trial, most recently in the Africa Working Group on 28 February. We will continue, with the EU, to discuss and review the development of the trial.
	Our ambassador in Dakar made representations to the Government of Senegal in October 2006 to urge them to pass the required legislation to enable the trial of Hissene Habre to be held in Senegal with minimum delay. We welcome the passing of the necessary legislation by the Sengalese National Assembly on31 January 2007 to permit a trial to take place in Senegal and urge the Government of Senegal to expedite the process.

Indonesia: Defence Equipment

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions concerning strategic exports Ministers in her Department had with Indonesian Ministers during their visit to the UK in January; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: On 31 January I had discussions with the Indonesian Trade Minister on promoting bilateral trade and investment.
	On the same day, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary took part in a bilateral forum with the Indonesian Foreign, Trade and Defence Ministers, which covered the Doha Development Round and the possibility of a Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and Association of South East Asian Nations.
	No strategic export sectors were discussed.

Japan: Dolphins

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what reports she has received on the recent slaughter and sale of dolphins off the Japanese coast;
	(2)  what recent meetings she has had with Japan on the slaughter and sale of dolphins.

Ian McCartney: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has made no assessment and has had no meetings.
	Stock assessments of whales and small cetaceansare the responsibility of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), of which the UK is an active member. The UK opposes the hunting of dolphins and porpoises by Japan and regularly raises the matter with Japanese representatives at the IWC.

Kamal Al-Labwani

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what occasions representatives of the UK Government have been present at legal proceedings in Syria concerning Dr. Kamal al-Labwani; what assessment she has made of the legal proceedings; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: Representatives of the Government have been present regularly at legal proceedings in Syria concerning Dr. Kamal al-Labwani.
	Dr. Kamal al-Labwani, a Syrian national, is being detained at the Adra criminal prison. He was arrested in October 2005 on his return from the United States. He is being tried under article 264 of the Syrian Penal Code, accused of inciting a foreign power to commit an aggressive act against Syria. He is also accused of spreading lies and false information against the State.

Kamal Al-Labwani

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether representatives of the UK Government will attend future legal proceedings in Syria concerning Dr. Kamal al-Labwani; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: Representatives of the EU and the US Embassy in Damascus will continue to attend the trial of Dr. Kamal al-Labwani. An official from our Embassy in Damascus attends the trial regularly as part of the EU delegation.

Lebanon: Syria

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 24 October 2006,  Official Report, columns 1765-6W, on the international arms embargo, what progress has been made by the government of Syria and the government of Lebanon in  (a) setting up an effective interdiction regime to give effect to the arms embargo set out in UNSCR 1701 and  (b) establishing joint Lebanese-Syrian border patrols.

Margaret Beckett: Following UN Security Council Resolution 1701 the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has deployed over 11,000 troops. UNIFIL has been successful in large parts of its mandate, especially in helping the Lebanese armed forces extend to the South of Lebanon and tighten sea and air borders. The international community continues to work with the Government of Lebanon to improve the security of its borders. However, we have seen little progress on setting up an effective interdiction regime by the Government of Syria, and joint Lebanese/Syrian border patrols have not been established.

Palestinians

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make a statement on the extent of UK involvement in security-related projects in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Margaret Beckett: We remain concerned at the security situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and continue to work closely with international partners to improve the situation on the ground.
	The UK plays a significant role in supporting the Palestinian security forces (our bilateral funding this financial year has been over US$1.6 million). The major projects are: US$320,000 for the maintenance of secure communications equipment for the Palestinian Authority Security Forces; US$600,000 for two secondees to the EU Police Co-ordination for the Palestinian Police Service (EUPOL COPPS); and US$700,000 for non-lethal equipment for the Presidential Guard. In respect of this last item, we informed the House about this project on8 February. All these projects have been or will be financed through the Global Conflict Prevention Pool.
	We also strongly support EU security work inthe Occupied Palestinian Territories. Our assessed contribution to the European Security and Defence Policy Missions, EU Border Assistance Mission and EUPOL COPPS, amounts to US$3.8 million.
	The UK is also working closely with US Security Co-ordinator General Dayton and his team in support of Security Sector Transformation within the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the Karni Crossing Project to improve the flow of goods from Gaza. We have seconded a military liaison officer and a police adviser to General Dayton's team. A training officer is due to go out to the region shortly.

Somalia: Official Visits

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions the Minister for Africa had on the independence of Somaliland from Somalia when she met the President of the Transitional Federal Republic of Somalia on22 February; what the outcome was of the discussions; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: The independence of Somaliland was not discussed in any detail when President Yusuf of the Transitional Federal Republic of Somalia met my noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, on 22 February. We continue to encourage the Transitional Federal Government and institutions to discuss with the Somaliland authorities all issues of mutual interest.

Somalia: Official Visits

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions the Minister for Africa had on efforts to establish an African Union peacekeeping force for Somalia with the President of Transitional Federal Government of Somalia when they met on 22 February; what the outcome was of those discussions; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, discussed the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) with President Yusuf of Somalia when they met on 22 February. They agreed the arrival of AMISOM would help the security situation in Somalia and allow Ethiopia to withdraw. Lord Triesman also welcomed President Yusuf's earlier announcement of a National Reconciliation Congress, which will contribute to stabilising thepolitical situation. The UK stands ready to assist this process.

Somalia: Official Visits

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representation the Government have maintained at African Union discussions on establishing a peacekeeping force for Somalia; what role those representatives played at the discussions; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: Our embassy in Addis Ababa has been closely involved in discussions on the establishment of the African Union (AU) mission in Somalia (AMISOM) with our counterparts in the AU and other international partners also supporting AMISOM. In particular, they have stressed the importance of AMISOM replacing Ethiopian troops in order to avoid a security vacuum.
	The Embassy's contribution is directed at encouraging potential troop contributing countries to commit troops, supporting the AU in developing detailed deployment plans and working with the AU's other international partners, notably the EU, UN and the United States, to join in this effort in order to seize this historic opportunity to bring peace and stability to Somalia. UN Security Council Resolution 1744 of20 February, which was sponsored by the UK, authorised the deployment of AMISOM.

South America: Cocaine

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps her Department is taking to tackle cocaine imported into the UK from South America.

Kim Howells: Preventing the importation of cocaine from Latin America into the UK is a top priority for the UK's international counter-narcotics efforts. The UK works closely with host governments to disrupt trafficking, and to seize consignments of illicit drugs and their financial proceeds. We are helping to build capacity among the region's law enforcement agencies and judiciary, with the provision of training and equipment. We work closely with other partners including the EU and US to maximise joint effort.
	The UK devotes considerable resources within the region in its fight against cocaine and in helping to reduce harm to the UK. Through its Drugs and Crime Fund, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has allocated some £1.7 million to specific projects to support counter-narcotics efforts in the Latin American region since 2005. For the financial year commencing April 2007, a sum of £960,000 has provisionally been allocated.
	The Government take a broad approach to tackling the trade in illicit drugs, through a mix of political engagement, capacity building and law enforcement support in producer, transit and consumer countries. This includes working with governments of producer and transit countries in Latin America, as well as with governments in countries along the main trafficking routes for drugs from Latin America (especially through the Caribbean and West Africa).

Sudan: Asylum

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of  (a) levels of internal conflict within the Central African Republic and  (b) the impact of the conflict in Darfur on security and numbers of refugees in the Republic.

Ian McCartney: The UK is concerned over the ongoing conflict in the Central African Republic (CAR). We were pleased to see reports of the peace agreement made on 2 February between President Bozize and various rebel groups operating in the CAR, which provides for an immediate cessation of hostilities. We hope that this will promote the advance of national reconciliation and the agreement of a comprehensive accord to be signed by all the national stakeholders.
	The CAR suffers from both internal conflict and from the impact of instability in the region. The UK will continue to work with the UN and other member states to determine how the deployment of a peacekeeping force to Chad and the CAR could best improve security in the region.

Sudan: Asylum

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent estimate she has made of the number who have  (a) died,  (b) become internally displaced and  (c) become refugees into neighbouring countries as a result of the conflict in Sudan.

Ian McCartney: There are no reliable figures for the number of persons that have died across Darfur as a result of the conflict. However, a frequently-quoted, and plausible, figure is 200,000. An estimated two million people have been displaced in Darfur and a further two million remained displaced as a result of the earlier conflict between the north and south; though many of the latter are now returning. As a result of the Darfur conflict there are 233,000 Darfuri refugees in eastern Chad. There are 340,000 refugees from southern Sudan in neighbouring countries.
	Every death and every displacement in Sudan is a tragedy. We call on all sides to cease the violence in Darfur immediately; to renew the political process and accept the African Union/UN peacekeeping force for Darfur.

Sudan: Peace Keeping Operations

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the United Nations mission in Sudan.

Ian McCartney: The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) plays a crucial role in supporting the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed in January 2005. It has supported the political process and reported on ceasefire violations. It has also provided much needed security for the CPA to progress. We, along with partners in the International Community, work closely with UNMIS and the Government of Sudan to that end. UN agencies provide substantial humanitarian assistance in the south.
	The UN Secretary-General stated in his report on Sudan of 25 January that the Ceasefire Joint Military Committee, chaired by UNMIS, was facilitating dialogue between the military forces of the north and south and resolving military violations of the CPA.
	The UN also plays an important role in Darfur. It provides much of the humanitarian assistance there and co-ordinates the work of other agencies. It performs well in difficult circumstances. It is also implementing its phased support package to the African Union (AU) Mission in Sudan and is working with the AU to secure the agreement of the rebels to the Darfur Peace Agreement. We are encouraging it to undertake both these tasks as rapidly as possible.

Sudan: Peace Negotiations

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made on the comprehensive peace agreement in Sudan.

Ian McCartney: Some progress is being made on the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). A Government of National Unity has been established in Khartoum. The Sudanese armed forces are redeploying from the south ahead of schedule and integrated northern/southern military units have been created. The administration in the south is starting to develop and roads are starting to be built there. A new currency has been launched in southern Sudan.
	But progress remains too slow. The establishment of key peace building bodies and the passage of legislation required by the agreement are behind schedule. Of particular concern is the lack of preparation for national elections, which are due to take place by 2009. An urgent resolution is also needed of the Abyei and north/south border disputes. And oil revenues need to be allocated transparently between the central and southern Governments.
	The UK continues to press for more progress through its membership of the CPA implementation oversight body. We are also supporting CPA implementation directly through development and humanitarian assistance (£110 million in 2006-07). We have drawn the attention of all parts of the Sudanese Government and the international community to the risks posed to the CPA by continued violence in Darfur.

UK Trade and Investment: Manpower

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many commercial officers and UK Trade and Investment staff were employed in each UK overseas mission in each of the last 10 years.

Ian McCartney: The figures set out the number of full-time equivalent staff working on UK Trade and Investment activity in posts worldwide for the financial years 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06. Figures for earlier years are not readily available and it would incur disproportionate cost to compile them.
	
		
			   FTE staff by year 
			  Post  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Abidjan 2.6 2.9 0.1 
			 Abu Dhabi 10.6 10.5 8.7 
			 Abuja 1.9 1.9 2.1 
			 Accra 6.3 6.4 5.2 
			 Addis Ababa 2.4 2.2 2.1 
			 Adelaide 1.4 1.4 1.3 
			 Aden 1.0 1.0 0.0 
			 Ahmedabad 2.0 2.0 2.0 
			 Al Khobar 5.2 5.3 3.5 
			 Aleppo 1.5 1.5 1.0 
			 Alexandria 3.2 3.2 2.8 
			 Algiers 2.2 4.2 4.2 
			 Almaty 3.7 3.5 2.9 
			 Amman 7.1 7.1 6.4 
			 Ankara 7.9 7.9 5.8 
			 Antananarivo 1.7 1.7 0.2 
			 Ashgabat 1.9 2.2 0.0 
			 Asmara 0.1 0.0 0.0 
			 Asuncion 3.4 3.4 0.0 
			 Athens 11.7 11.7 7.3 
			 Atlanta 12.3 11.6 10.4 
			 Atyrau 0.0 2.0 2.0 
			 Auckland 9.0 10.0 9.3 
			 Baghdad 4.0 3.0 5.4 
			 Bahrain 4.2 5.2 3.8 
			 Baku 4.0 4.2 2.3 
			 Bamako 0.2 0.2 0.0 
			 Bandar Seri Begawan 2.3 2.2 2.0 
			 Bangalore 6.9 6.7 7.0 
			 Bangkok 14.4 14.7 14.5 
			 Banja Luka 0.1 0.1 0.1 
			 Banjul 0.6 0.2 0.1 
			 Barcelona 8.2 8.7 8.7 
			 Basra 0.0 2.0 2.2 
			 Beijing 27.6 27.9 28.1 
			 Beirut 4.5 4.2 3.2 
			 Belgrade 5.5 5.2 6.2 
			 Belmopan 1.0 1.0 0.3 
			 Belo Horizonte 1.8 1.8 1.8 
			 Berlin 6.4 6.4 7.4 
			 Berne 13.1 13.9 12.2 
			 Bhopal 1.0 1.0 1.0 
			 Bilbao 2.9 3.0 2.7 
			 Bogota 7.3 7.3 4.4 
			 Bordeaux 2.3 2.8 3.7 
			 Boston 9.9 11.4 11.4 
			 Brasilia 5.2 5.1 5.7 
			 Bratislava 4.9 5.1 5.0 
			 Bridgetown 4.6 4.3 4.4 
			 Brisbane 4.6 4.6 4.4 
			 Brussels Embassy 11.9 11.5 10.7 
			 Brussels UKREP 5.0 5.0 5.0 
			 Bucharest 8.7 8.8 8.3 
			 Budapest 15.3 15.5 15.4 
			 Buenos Aires 9.2 8.9 7.8 
			 Cairo 10.4 9.6 9.2 
			 Calgary 2.7 2.7 1.8 
			 Canberra 0.5 0.6 0.6 
			 Cape Town 5.0 5.2 3.0 
			 Caracas 8.7 6.3 5.0 
			 Casablanca 7.6 7.0 5.3 
			 Castries 0.7 0.6 0.0 
			 Chennai 9.0 7.1 7.3 
			 Chicago 18.8 19.6 18.3 
			 Chisinau 0.1 0.0 0.0 
			 Chittagong 1.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Chongqing 6.1 8.9 9.9 
			 Colombo 6.6 5.0 6.0 
			 Conakry 0.1 0.1 0.1 
			 Copenhagen 13.1 14.1 12.2 
			 Curitiba 2.5 2.5 2.5 
			 Dakar 2.2 2.1 1.1 
			 Dallas 3.4 3.4 2.3 
			 Damascus 6.2 6.2 5.2 
			 Dar es Salaam 4.2 3.7 2.2 
			 Denver 3.2 3.2 0.0 
			 Dhaka 5.2 5.2 3.7 
			 Doha 8.2 8.1 7.5 
			 Douala 1.2 1.7 0.0 
			 Dubai 10.9 11.0 9.9 
			 Dublin 14.7 16.2 13.2 
			 Durban 4.5 2.6 3.0 
			 Dushanbe 0.2 0.1 0.1 
			 Dusseldorf 25.9 27.8 27.8 
			 Florence 1.8 1.9 1.8 
			 Frankfurt 5.7 5.7 5.7 
			 Freetown 0.5 0.5 0.1 
			 Fukuoka 1.9 1.9 0.0 
			 Gaborone 0.7 0.7 0.1 
			 Geneva 2.0 2.1 1.8 
			 Georgetown 1.4 1.6 1.1 
			 Gothenburg 4.6 4.6 4.8 
			 Guadalajara 3.0 3.0 2.0 
			 Guangzhou 13.3 17.3 16.7 
			 Guatemala City 1.5 1.5 1.7 
			 Guayaquil 2.0 2.0 1.9 
			 Hague, The 12.7 12.4 10.3 
			 Hamburg 9.0 8.1 6.7 
			 Hanoi 5.0 4.7 5.0 
			 Harare 3.6 3.3 1.1 
			 Havana 2.8 2.6 1.7 
			 Helsinki 11.8 12.9 9.2 
			 Ho Chi Minh City 6.8 6.8 6.5 
			 Hong Kong 23.3 24.2 24.9 
			 Houston 10.4 10.1 9.4 
			 Hyderabad 2.0 4.0 3.0 
			 Islamabad 7.1 3.1 1.2 
			 Istanbul 12.0 9.7 9.1 
			 Jakarta 12.6 12.7 5.1 
			 Jedda 5.2 5.2 3.2 
			 Jerusalem 1.7 1.6 1.1 
			 Johannesburg 22.1 22.3 18.2 
			 Kabul 0.2 0.3 0.2 
			 Kaduna 1.1 1.1 0.0 
			 Kampala 2.8 2.8 2.8 
			 Kaohsiung 2.0 2.0 2.0 
			 Karachi 8.1 8.1 6.5 
			 Kathmandu 1.1 0.9 0.1 
			 Khartoum 2.0 2.0 1.6 
			 Kiev 4.2 4.1 3.4 
			 Kigali 0.6 0.6 0.0 
			 Kingston 4.3 4.1 3.2 
			 Kingstown 0.5 0.5 0.0 
			 Kinshasa 0.2 0.2 0.0 
			 Kolkata 8.8 6.6 6.6 
			 Kuala Lumpur 20.8 20.7 18.2 
			 Kuwait 7.1 7.2 7.3 
			 La Paz 2.3 2.3 2.2 
			 Lagos 12.2 11.2 9.6 
			 Lahore 4.0 1.0 1.0 
			 Las Palmas 2.2 2.2 2.2 
			 Leipzig 2.0 2.0 2.0 
			 Lille 5.0 5.0 4.9 
			 Lilongwe 1.1 1.1 0.0 
			 Lima 7.0 5.6 4.6 
			 Lisbon 12.6 10.4 9.4 
			 Ljubljana 3.6 4.1 4.1 
			 Lome 0.1 0.1 0.1 
			 Los Angeles 11.9 11.9 11.3 
			 Luanda 5.4 5.3 3.2 
			 Lusaka 0.8 0.7 0.0 
			 Luxembourg 0.8 0.9 1.0 
			 Lyon 5.1 5.3 5.3 
			 Madrid 17.6 17.6 19.2 
			 Malaga 2.0 2.0 0.0 
			 Managua 0.2 0.0 0.0 
			 Manila 13.3 13.6 11.6 
			 Maputo 2.5 2.7 2.4 
			 Marseilles 3.2 3.1 2.5 
			 Mbabane 0.2 0.2 0.2 
			 Melbourne 9.5 9.5 8.5 
			 Mexico City 16.5 16.4 15.5 
			 Miami 5.8 4.6 3.2 
			 Milan 19.7 19.7 20.1 
			 Minsk 0.9 0.9 0.0 
			 Monterrey 4.6 4.6 5.2 
			 Montevideo 2.4 2.1 1.9 
			 Montreal 6.1 6.1 5.1 
			 Moscow 11.0 11.7 10.2 
			 Mumbai 20.6 20.3 21.9 
			 Munich 8.0 8.5 8.4 
			 Muscat 6.1 4.5 4.2 
			 Nagoya 3.3 4.3 2.8 
			 Nairobi 6.1 6.2 3.9 
			 Naples 2.1 2.1 2.1 
			 Nassau 1.1 0.1 0.0 
			 New Delhi 28.9 26.5 25.6 
			 New York 32.3 42.1 38.3 
			 Nicosia 5.6 5.3 5.2 
			 Nuku'alofa 0.1 0.1 0.0 
			 Oporto 2.2 2.2 0.0 
			 Osaka 17.9 18.4 17.7 
			 Oslo 15.5 15.4 12.9 
			 Ottawa 3.7 4.6 1.3 
			 Panama City 2.2 2.1 2.0 
			 Paris 36.2 38.0 33.3 
			 Perth 3.4 3.5 3.5 
			 Phnom Penh 0.3 0.3 0.0 
			 Phoenix 1.9 1.9 1.9 
			 Port Harcourt 2.0 2.0 1.9 
			 Port Louis 2.1 2.1 0.0 
			 Port Moresby 1.0 0.9 0.7 
			 Port of Spain 4.9 4.6 3.8 
			 Port Vila 0.1 0.1 0.0 
			 Portimao 0.2 0.0 0.0 
			 Porto Alegre 2.0 2.0 2.0 
			 Prague 12.6 12.7 12.5 
			 Pretoria 0.1 0.1 0.1 
			 Pune 2.0 2.0 2.0 
			 Quito 1.9 1.9 1.5 
			 Rabat 0.9 0.9 0.5 
			 Recife 1.9 1.9 1.9 
			 Reykjavik 2.4 2.5 2.2 
			 Riga 3.4 4.6 5.6 
			 Rio de Janeiro 12.8 9.8 9.1 
			 Riyadh 10.7 10.3 8.8 
			 Rome 5.6 5.5 4.0 
			 San Francisco 13.6 14.2 13.2 
			 San Jose 3.1 2.1 1.9 
			 San Juan 2.0 1.9 1.0 
			 Sanaa 3.4 2.2 1.7 
			 Santiago 9.4 8.9 6.7 
			 Santo Domingo 2.0 1.7 1.7 
			 Sao Paulo 25.0 18.1 16.1 
			 Sarajevo 3.1 3.0 3.5 
			 Seattle 4.2 5.0 4.0 
			 Seoul 19.9 19.9 16.7 
			 Shanghai 17.6 16.4 19.3 
			 Singapore 18.4 19.5 16.4 
			 Skopje 2.3 2.3 0.1 
			 Sofia 4.9 4.8 5.0 
			 Split 0.3 0.3 0.0 
			 St. George's 0.4 0.3 0.0 
			 St. John's 0.6 0.6 0.0 
			 St. Petersburg 3.6 3.6 3.3 
			 Stavanger 0.7 1.0 0.0 
			 Stockholm 14.8 14.8 13.3 
			 Stuttgart 4.8 5.2 5.2 
			 Suva 1.9 1.8 1.5 
			 Sydney 14.5 14.6 14.2 
			 Taipei 18.2 18.2 16.2 
			 Tallinn 3.1 4.1 3.8 
			 Tashkent 1.7 1.7 0.1 
			 Tbilisi 2.5 2.1 0.0 
			 Tegucigalpa 0.7 0.0 0.0 
			 Tehran 6.7 6.7 6.1 
			 Tel Aviv 8.2 8.4 7.4 
			 Thessaloniki 0.0 1.0 1.0 
			 Tirana 1.2 1.1 0.1 
			 Tokyo 46.8 44.9 41.3 
			 Toronto 17.9 20.0 16.4 
			 Tripoli 6.7 6.7 6.0 
			 Tunis 4.6 4.6 2.2 
			 Ulaanbaatar 0.9 0.9 0.1 
			 Valletta 3.5 3.4 3.1 
			 Vancouver 6.1 7.1 5.8 
			 Victoria 0.7 0.6 0.0 
			 Vienna 7.7 7.7 6.5 
			 Vientiane 0.3 0.2 0.0 
			 Vilnius 2.8 3.8 3.7 
			 Warsaw 18.0 18.8 18.8 
			 Washington 9.2 8.2 8.0 
			 Wellington 0.4 0.3 0.4 
			 Windhoek 0.6 0.5 0.1 
			 Yaounde 0.2 0.3 0.1 
			 Yekaterinburg 2.6 2.7 2.6 
			 Yerevan 2.3 2.2 0.0 
			 Zagreb 4.2 5.2 3.7 
			 Grand total 1,530.8 1,528.6 1,338.2

Alcoholic Drinks: Young People

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many children and young people between the ages of 12 and 20 years requiring hospital treatment for  (a) alcohol and  (b) substance misuse were accommodated in adult psychiatric units in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years.

Paul Goggins: The number of children and young people between the ages of 12 to 20 years requiring hospital treatment for  (a) alcohol and  (b) substance misuse who were accommodated in adult psychiatric units in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years is presented in the following table.
	
		
			  Financial year  Alcohol  Substance misuse 
			 2003-04 40 71 
			 2004-05 45 34 
			 2005-06 33 52 
			  Note: Any individual requiring hospital treatment for both alcohol and substance misuse will be counted in both columns.  Source:  HSS Trusts.

Departmental Staff

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff were employed through employment agencies in  (a) his Department and  (b) each of its agencies in each of the last five years for which information is available; and what the (i) average and (ii) longest time was for which these temporary workers were employed in each year.

Paul Goggins: The information is as follows.
	
		
			  (a) Department 
			   Department totals 
			 2002-03 26 
			 2003-04 21 
			 2004-05 15 
			 2005-06 3 
			 2006-07 6 
		
	
	
		
			  (b) Agencies 
			   Comp. Agency  Youth Justice Agency  Crown Solicitors Office  Forensic Science Northern Ireland  Public Prosecution Service  Northern Ireland Prison Service  Agency totals 
			 2002-03 — — 3 1 3 0 7 
			 2003-04 — — 3 1 3 0 7 
			 2004-05 2 7 4 4 3 16 36 
			 2005-06 — 10 4 12 3 9 38 
			 2006-07 — 12 4 12 3 5 36 
		
	
	Information regarding (i) average and (ii) longest time for which these temporary workers were employed in each year is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Police Service of Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Police Service of Northern Ireland patrol vehicles are in operation in each district command unit area in Northern Ireland, broken down by vehicle type.

Paul Goggins: I have been advised by the PSNI that the deployment of patrol vehicles is a matter for the Chief Constable. For operational reasons PSNI does not provide details of the types of vehicle deployed in each area.
	An overall deployment by District Command Unit is in the following tables.
	
		
			  PSNI vehicles by DCU 
			   Number 
			 Antrim 147 
			 Ards 36 
			 Armagh 94 
			 Ballymena 74 
			 Ballymoney 11 
			 Banbridge 16 
			 Carrickfergus 18 
			 Castlereagh 223 
			 Coleraine 37 
			 Cookstown 19 
			 Craigavon 109 
			 Down 49 
			 Dungannon and South Tyrone 30 
			 East Belfast 105 
			 Fermanagh 73 
			 Foyle 152 
			 Larne 14 
			 Limavady 39 
			 Lisburn 134 
			 Magherafelt 21 
			 Moyle 9 
			 Newry and Mourne 53 
			 Newtownabbey 55 
			 North Belfast 118 
			 North Down 31 
			 Omagh 32 
			 South Belfast 79 
			 Strabane 45 
			 West Belfast 106 
		
	
	
		
			  PSNI Vehicles by type 
			   Number 
			 4 wheel drive 201 
			 Landrover APC 372 
			 Motorcycle 110 
			 Saloon car 1062 
			 Van 184 
			 Grand total 1929

Guarantee Credit and Savings Credit

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the amount of  (a) guarantee credit and  (b) savings credit that will be paid in each year from 2006 to 2052 for people aged (i) 60 to 64 years, (ii) 65 to 69 years, (iii) 70 to 74 years and (iv) 75 years and over.

James Purnell: I have been asked to reply.
	The answer is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Projected pension credit expenditure by age band, 2006-07 to 2050-51 
			  £ million 
			   Aged 60-64  Aged 65-69  Aged 70-74  Aged 75 years and over 
			   Guarantee credit  Guarantee credit  Savings credit  Guarantee credit  Savings credit  Guarantee credit  Savings credit 
			 2006 1,593 1,004 163 790 195 2,584 824 
			 2007 1,739 1,041 166 820 192 2,612 837 
			 2008 1,827 1,093 165 853 186 2,640 834 
			 2009 1,898 1,158 161 897 178 2,692 818 
			 2010 1,941 1,222 154 942 169 2,735 797 
			 2011 1,952 1,148 164 965 167 2,918 803 
			 2012 1,848 1,109 173 961 166 3,047 820 
			 2013 1,609 1,065 173 899 167 3,214 853 
			 2014 1,505 1,037 171 884 166 3,308 888 
			 2015 1,270 991 154 853 167 3,383 910 
			 2016 1,132 1,025 148 831 163 3,392 921 
			 2017 835 1,025 154 796 160 3,457 907 
			 2018 699 1,063 175 763 157 3,563 895 
			 2019 343 1,068 199 730 152 3,699 874 
			 2020 174 1,105 224 685 147 3,815 867 
			 2021 — 1,046 236 676 144 3,915 862 
			 2022 — 973 223 682 156 3,929 867 
			 2023 — 869 197 690 167 3,980 877 
			 2024 — 771 156 666 177 4,034 885 
			 2025 — 654 130 660 178 4,112 894 
			 2026 — 542 118 624 179 4,115 895 
			 2027 — 478 132 616 169 4,049 906 
			 2028 — 468 147 567 152 3,963 917 
			 2029 — 517 157 528 134 3,894 934 
			 2030 — 601 168 462 123 3,864 933 
			 2031 — 649 173 431 122 3,802 932 
			 2032 — 667 171 424 126 3,701 922 
			 2033 — 711 165 430 135 3,568 934 
			 2034 — 673 150 472 146 3,483 939 
			 2035 — 576 137 525 155 3,433 967 
			 2036 — 420 115 578 170 3,377 983 
			 2037 — 363 108 571 175 3,309 987 
			 2038 — 404 99 538 176 3,212 971 
			 2039 — 463 93 478 165 3,157 952 
			 2040 — 499 78 444 153 3,148 956 
			 2041 — 510 66 429 135 3,114 970 
			 2042 — 571 63 442 119 3,019 988 
			 2043 — 614 J38 459 104 2,907 1,006 
			 2044 — 520 66 525 98 2,859 1,007 
			 2045 — 396 61 581 96 2,900 1,001 
			 2046 — 320 49 592 95 2,911 974 
			 2047 — 348 46 539 95 2,887 950 
			 2048 — 338 47 509 92 2,832 917 
			 2049 — 354 50 488 89 2,761 880 
			 2050 — 345 52 484 85 2,699 846 
			  Notes: 1. Estimates are given in £ million, 2006-07 prices. 2. Figures refer to financial years. For example 2006 refers to 2006-07. Estimates for 2051-52 and 2052-53 are not available. 3. All expenditure projections apply to the whole of the United Kingdom. 4. Expenditure is projected under the reforms presented in the Pensions Bill Regulatory Impact Assessment.

Means-tested Benefits

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his Department's estimate is of the cost of means-tested benefits based upon the retirement ages proposed in the Pension White Paper for each from 2006 to 2052 for those  (a) aged 65 to 69 years,  (b) aged 70 to 74 years and  (c) aged 75 years and over; and what his estimate is of the cost of administering these benefits in 2006.

James Purnell: I have been asked to reply.
	The cost of means-tested benefits for each year from 2006 to 2050 is set out in the following table. The level of administration subsidy paid by the Department for Work and Pensions to local authorities in 2006-07 is £555 million. The cost of administering pension credit claims in 2006 is not available. The cost of administering pension credit claims during the year to March 2005 has been estimated as £237 million. This figure is an approximate assessment only. The Pension Service continues to develop its unit cost information and a modern resource management system which will support improved costing analysis is being developed. The timescales of when this will be rolled out across the Department are not currently known.
	
		
			  Projected expenditure by age band for means-tested benefits, 2006-07 to 2050-51 
			  £ million 
			   Aged 65-69  Aged 70-74  Aged 75 years and over 
			 2006 2,245 2,191 6,846 
			 2007 2,333 2,263 6,994 
			 2008 2,429 2,332 7,120 
			 2009 2,529 2,405 7,240 
			 2010 2,608 2,457 7,294 
			 2011 2,587 2,551 7,611 
			 2012 2,573 2,588 7,803 
			 2013 2,542 2,564 8,038 
			 2014 2,522 2,580 8,196 
			 2015 2,468 2,580 8,315 
			 2016 2,503 2,581 8,351 
			 2017 2,514 2,565 8,413 
			 2018 2,576 2,549 8,512 
			 2019 2,605 2,529 8,627 
			 2020 2,667 2,490 8,724 
			 2021 2,670 2,498 8,961 
			 2022 2,630 2,531 9,106 
			 2023 2,540 2,562 9,276 
			 2024 2,435 2,554 9,431 
			 2025 2,102 2,552 9,596 
			 2026 1,770 2,516 9,661 
			 2027 1,730 2,494 9,651 
			 2028 1,743 2,420 9,606 
			 2029 1,811 2,349 9,569 
			 2030 1,912 2,256 9,540 
			 2031 1,978 2,296 9,671 
			 2032 2,002 2,356 9,731 
			 2033 2,053 2,426 9,759 
			 2034 2,002 2,527 9,807 
			 2035 1,673 2,630 9,899 
			 2036 1,266 2,734 9,951 
			 2037 1,204 2,761 9,963 
			 2038 1,263 2,754 9,914 
			 2039 1,349 2,703 9,895 
			 2040 1,391 2,675 9,929 
			 2041 1,461 2,726 10,411 
			 2042 1,588 2,799 10,797 
			 2043 1,681 2,867 11,127 
			 2044 1,589 2,984 11,464 
			 2045 1,193 3,085 11,844 
			 2046 814 3,136 12,138 
			 2047 836 3,117 12,369 
			 2048 838 3,109 12,524 
			 2049 858 3,105 12,625 
			 2050 809 3,110 12,708 
			  Notes:  1. Estimates are given in £ millions, 2006-07 prices. 2. Figures refer to financial years. For example 2006 refers to 2006-07. Estimates for 2051-52 and 2052-53 are not available.  3. All expenditure projections apply to the whole of the United Kingdom.  4. Expenditure is projected under the reforms presented in the Pensions Bill Regulatory Impact Assessment.  5. Expenditure on means-tested benefits included pension credit, housing benefit and council tax benefit.  6. Housing benefit costs reflect the total amounts paid to beneficiaries, irrespective of the source of funding, and include benefit spending reimbursed by DWP, spending on rent rebates financed within local authorities' housing revenue accounts, and benefit spending financed from local authorities general funds.

Takeovers

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the extent to which companies based in other European countries have received  (a) financial and  (b) other assistance from their respective governments to mount bids for the takeover of UK-based companies.

Edward Balls: European Community law enshrines the right of free and open competition between member states, which has enabled the UK to take advantage of increasing global trade, and benefit from new ideas and management techniques. The European Commission monitors and is responsible for tackling measures and Government support that distort or threaten to distort European competition. The UK actively supports the Commission's work in eliminating inefficient state subsidies.

Climate Change

Natascha Engel: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent discussions he has had with counterparts in other European states on climate change.

John Prescott: Last week I met the director-general and senior officials at the World Health Organisation in Geneva to discuss the very serious effects that climate change is having on public health, and in the growth of the world's big cities.
	And through the UK China Task Force, I am discussing with the Chinese Government how we can share our knowledge and expertise to develop a policy for more sustainable cities both in the EU and Asia.
	In September, I attended the ASEM leaders' conference in Helsinki on behalf of the Prime Minister last September, and also a major European conference in Portugal, where I discussed progress on the post-Kyoto agenda and climate change.

Slavery

Diana Johnson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what events have been agreed to commemorate the 200(th) anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade.

John Prescott: The Government are supporting and facilitating events being staged by grassroots, community and faith groups across the country throughout 2007. It is also supporting museums, heritage organisations and local councils that are staging their own commemorative exhibitions and events.
	Government have not directed how local communities should commemorate the year-events planned locally are most appropriate and relevant to the communities in which they are staged.
	The hon. Member is aware of the commemorations being planned in the city of Hull, for which I hope she will be joining my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and myself.

Housing: Energy

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 24 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1894W, on EU Directive 2002/91/EC, whether her Department holds a copy of a European  (a) Commission and  (b) Parliament Impact Assessment.

Ruth Kelly: A summary of the overall benefits expected to arise from member states implementation of EU Directive 2002/91/EC was published by the European Commission in April 2003. We are not aware that the European Commission or European Parliament has published any further impact assessments.
	We have already published our own Regulatory Impact Assessment for implementing the technical parts of this directive in the April 2006 amendment of the building regulations and will be publishing an impact assessment for the remaining parts of the directive in due course.

Local Government: Standards

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department is taking to close the gap between the highest and lowest performing councils.

Phil Woolas: The responsibility for improving council performance rests primarily with local authorities themselves, with the wider local government sector playing an important role in providing support and challenge to drive better performance. Performance levels are continuing to improve, prompted by CPA and supported by the joint capacity building programme we have established with the LGA. The White Paper 'Strong and Prosperous Communities' set out our proposals for a new performance framework forlocal government, which will support continued improvement for all. In addition, we are working with local government to develop a national improvement strategy which will help to focus improvement and capacity building support where it is most needed.

Departments: Energy

Lynne Jones: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what strategy she has put in place for  (a) the use of renewable energy and  (b) meeting energy targets in her Department's buildings; and if she will make a statement.

Vera Baird: My Department currently sources 13 per cent. of its electricity from renewable sources and this figure is set to rise as part of the strategy to move all sites on to the Office of Government Commerce by solutions (OGCbs) energy provision framework contract.
	The strategy to increase energy efficiency by 15 per cent. per m(2) by 2010 and 30 per cent. by 2020 relative to 1999-2000 levels includes energy surveys of buildings, introduction of low cost and no cost measures and training staff in good energy housekeeping measures. Work to re-baseline the Department's 1999-2000 levels is to be undertaken following the take-up of non-central Government sites in March 2005.

Lords Lieutenant

Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs 
	(1)  which Deputy Lord Lieutenants have been appointed since 1997;
	(2)  why the right hon. Member for Leicester, East was informed by her Department that responsibilities for the appointment of Lord Lieutenants has been passed to the Office of the Prime Minister.

Harriet Harman: The Department does not hold records of all Deputy Lord Lieutenants appointed since 1997. I will however, obtain a list of all Deputy Lord Lieutenants in post and write to the hon. Member with the information and copies will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
	The Prime Minister is responsible for advising The Queen on the appointment of Lord Lieutenants. This is a long-standing responsibility.

Magistrates Courts: East Sussex

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which magistrates courts in East Sussex  (a) closed and  (b) opened in each year since 1997.

Harriet Harman: Up until 1 April 2005 magistrates courts were the responsibility of locally managed magistrates courts committees who were not required by statute to inform the department of any magistrates court closures unless they were subject to an appeal under Section 56 (3) of the Justices of the PeaceAct 1997 (now repealed).
	There have been no magistrates court closures or openings that the Department has been notified of since 1997 in East Sussex.

Wills

David Kidney: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what arrangements her Department has in place for members of the public publicly to register the existence of an  (a) will and  (b) living will.

Harriet Harman: There are no arrangements in England and Wales for a public register of wills of living persons. There are facilities under section 126 of the Supreme Court Act 1981 for a person to lodge his or her will at the Principal Registry of the Family Division for safe keeping during his or her lifetime but these records are not available to the public. A will only becomes a public record after the person who made it has died and the court has made a grant of probate in respect of it.
	The Mental Capacity Act 2005 includes provision for the making of binding advance decisions. The Act applies to England and Wales only. There is no provision for the registration of advance decisions.

Animal Welfare: Protest

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action has been taken following the recent incidents of attacks on peoples' homes by animal terrorists.

Vernon Coaker: The Government condemns campaigns of intimidation, harassment and violence against individuals and law-abiding businesses and has in place a cross-departmental strategy to put an end to the animal rights extremist threat and protect those targeted by it.
	We have introduced tough new legislation, appointed a dedicated senior officer as national co-ordinator for domestic extremism and provided additional resources for the police to tackle the problem nationally. These steps have led to a reduction in unlawful activity and a number of successful prosecutions which have seen leading extremists receive lengthy custodial sentences.
	The Government remains committed to eradicating the threat of animal rights extremism.

Convictions: EC Nationals

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many citizens of the post-2000 EU accession states have been convicted of criminal offences in the UK.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Data held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform court proceedings database does not hold information on the nationality of the defendant.

Crime: Lancashire

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many gun-related crimes there were in Lancashire in each of the last 10 years.

Vernon Coaker: Available data from 1996 up to and including 2005-06 are given in tables (a) and (b).
	Figures for 1996 and 1997 include those involving air weapons.
	
		
			  Table (a): Crimes recorded by the police in Lancashire( 1)  in which firearms (excluding air weapons) were reported to have been used, 1996 to 2001-02 
			   Number 
			 1996(1) 89 
			 1997(1) 87 
			 1998-99(2) 50 
			 1999-2000 78 
			 2000-01(3) 59 
			 2001-02 103 
			 (1) Figures include offences involving the use of air weapons. (2) There was a change in counting rules for recorded crime on 1 April 1998. (3) Numbers of some recorded crimes may have been inflated by some police forces implementing the principles of the National Crime Recording Standard before 1 April 2002. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table (b): Crimes recorded by the police in Lancashire( 1)  in which firearms (excluding air weapons) were reported to have been used, 2002-03 to 2005-06 
			   Number 
			 2002-03(1) 66 
			 2003-04 58 
			 2004-05(2) 259 
			 2005-06(2) 372 
			 (1) The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced in April 2002. Because of this figure, before and after that date are not directly comparable. (2) Some of the increase may be due to the change in the force's recording practices. There was more than a three-fold increase in offences from 2003-04 to 2004-05. This increase is mainly due to offences involving imitation weapons. New, more explicit guidelines for the classification of weapons may have increased the recording of firearm offences in 2004-05, especially those committed with imitation weapons.

Crime: Lancashire

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his estimate is of the total cost of alcohol-influenced acts of vandalism in Lancashire in each of the last 10 years.

Vernon Coaker: No information is held centrally on the cost of alcohol influenced vandalism in Lancashire.

Crimes of Violence

Brian Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government have taken to tackle gang-related violence since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: At the Prime Minister's Summit on guns and gangs on 22 February, a three-point plan was announced focusing on policing, powers and prevention. This work-plan includes a review of legislation relating to gangs, which will look at sentencing of juveniles, and gang membership as an aggravating factor in sentencing and other issues.
	We are working closely with ACPO on the related issues of gangs, guns and drugs supply.
	We are also working with the Metropolitan police on the development of an operational toolkit on gangs; developing a community-focused toolkit to provide advice to parents and young people; and working in conjunction with the Department for Education and Skills on a toolkit on gangs aimed as schools.
	There are a number of wide-ranging national and local programmes that tackle gang-related issues:
	The Youth Inclusion Programme established in 2000 provides tailor-made programmes for 13 to16-year-olds identified locally (by police, schools, social services etc.) as engaged in crime, or being at most risk of offending, truancy, or social exclusion. In first three years of programme, arrest rates for the 50 young people considered to be most at risk of crime had been reduced by 65 per cent.
	Safer Schools Partnerships were launched in 2002. With 370 police officers in selected schools in areas with high levels of street crime, the partnerships aim to reduce victimisation, and criminal and antisocial behaviour within the school and its community.
	The Positive Futures scheme provides lifestyle, educational and employment opportunities for young people living in deprived areas. Between 2003 and 2006 £15 million of funding from the Home Office and £3 million from Football Foundation, plus individual funding from local supporters, was provided. Since 2000 over 26,000 children have been involved.
	The Manchester Multi-Agency Gangs strategy is a partnership which helps young people exit gangs, working intensively with young people and their families.
	The West Midlands Mediation and Transformation Service provides conflict resolution and support services, which have defused tension and aim to help young people exit gangs.
	Other programmes such as From Boyhood to Manhood focus on helping young men develop self-esteem. Boys are referred to the FBMF by local education authorities, special needs departments, youth-offending teams and social services departments. The FBMF helps them to get back on track through its day-programme of education and self-development.
	Other local programmes include the "Defending Da Hood" programme in Waltham Forest to engage with hard-to-reach young people in order to discuss issues which are relevant to them, and raise awareness of crime.
	We also support local initiatives through the Connected Fund, which was established in 2004. The sixth round was launched on 1 March and will accept applications from small community organisations working on gangs issues for grants up to £5,000. The closing date for bids is 12 April. We have also provided project funding via the Government offices for the regions and directly to projects such as the Urban Concepts "Don't Trigger" anti-gun crime campaign.
	Long-term prevention work includes parenting support to ensure that young people are given guidance in their developing years, volunteering programmes to help young people and provide alternative activities, and mentoring services to support young people.

Criminal Investigation

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if he will place in the Library the transcripts of interviews held during the recently completed investigation into the cases leading to convictions of Martin Wynn Davies, William Charles Hughes and Neil Smith;
	(2)  if he will place in the Library the custody records and schedules of items seized in the recently completed investigations into the cases leading to the convictions of Martin Wynn Davies, Charles Hughes and Neil Smith.

Vernon Coaker: Material or information gathered during a police investigation are not subject to disclosure other than to the person involved and his or her legal representative or in connection with court proceedings.

Criminal Record Bureau: Disclosure of Information

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons the results of Criminal Record Bureau searches on individuals are not transferable between organisations with the individual's consent.

Joan Ryan: holding answer 1 March 2007
	Disclosures are primarily designed to be used by an employer at the point of recruitment for a particular position. Ultimately it is for each employer and not the CRB to decide whether a fresh disclosure should be applied for, bearing in mind their legal and other responsibilities and subject to any statutory requirements. There are a number of reasons why an employer may not wish to accept a disclosure that has been processed for a previous employment position, including:
	The disclosure may not be at the right level (there are two different levels of CRB check; standard and enhanced);
	The older a disclosure is the less reliant the information is, because the information it contains may not be up to date;
	Information revealed through a CRB check reflects the information that was available at the time of its issue—a person may have committed a crime in the intervening period;
	An organisation or employer may be required by law to carry out a fresh check against the Protection of Children Act List (PoCA) and/or the Protection of Vulnerable Adults List Act (POVA), thereby limiting the use of portability.

European Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Government will  (a) sign and  (b) ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking of Human Beings.

Vernon Coaker: On 22 January the Prime Minister announced the UK's intention to sign the Council of Europe Convention on Human Trafficking. The UK is currently examining how we implement the Convention and cannot give a specific date for signature. However, having signalled our intention to sign we are now committed to implementing the Convention and putting in place a framework which will provide real protection and support to all victims of trafficking.
	Unlike the approach adopted by some of our Council of Europe colleagues the UK will not ratify the Convention until all the changes to domestic legislation, processes and guidance are in place to ensure that we comply fully with its terms.

European Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the UK will sign the Council of Europe Convention on action against trafficking in human beings.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 6 March 2007
	On22 January the Prime Minister announced the UK's intention to sign the Council of Europe Convention on Human Trafficking. The UK is currently examining how we implement the Convention and cannot give a specific date for signature. However, having signalled our intention to sign we are now committed to implementing the Convention and putting in place a framework which will provide real protection and support to all victims of trafficking.
	Unlike the approach adopted by some of our Council of Europe colleagues the UK will not ratify the Convention until all the changes to domestic legislation, processes and guidance are in place to ensure that we comply fully with its terms.

European Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Answer of22 February 2007,  Official Report, columns 1946-7W, on human trafficking, if he will clarify on what date he expects to sign the Council of Europe Convention on action against Trafficking in Human Beings.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 5 March 2007
	On22 January the Prime Minister announced the UK's intention to sign the Council of Europe Convention on Human Trafficking. The UK is currently examining how we implement the Convention and cannot give a specific date for signature. However, having signalled our intention to sign we are now committed to implementing the Convention and putting in place a framework which will provide real protection and support to all victims of trafficking.
	Unlike the approach adopted by some of our Council of Europe colleagues the UK will not ratify the Convention until all the changes to domestic legislation, processes and guidance are in place to ensure that we comply fully with its terms.

Firearms: Crime

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans his Department has to tackle gun-related crime.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 27 February 2007
	As announced at the Prime Minister's Summit on guns and gangs on 22 February, we are tackling gun crime with a three-point plan, focusing on:
	Policing—ensuring the police are equipped to tackle gun crime;
	Powers—giving the police and courts the powers to deal with offenders; and
	Prevention—empowering communities to take action themselves to prevent gun crime and gang culture and offering support to parents to challenge their children's behaviour.
	This comprehensive approach draws together the broad range of work currently underway including tough new gun laws, intelligence-driven policing initiatives and community-led projects and will be taken forward by the Home Office Round Table on Guns, Gangs and Knives which is chaired by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary.
	In April we will introduce a new offence of 'using someone to mind a weapon', meaning that people who pass weapons to girlfriends, younger siblings or other gang members will still face prosecution. People should not think they can get away with passing off their gun to someone else. Unlawful possession of a prohibited firearm means five years in jail, and this will now also apply to people who use others to look after their weapons for them. This measure was passed in the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 and will become an offence this spring.
	ACPO are already leading work on issues around the international market in firearms and supply, building up a national intelligence picture of the scale and nature of the problem around guns and gangs and working with individual forces to tackle problems proactively and robustly.

Money Laundering

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will transpose into UK law the requirements of the third money laundering directive on  (a) protecting people making suspicious activity reports from reprisals,  (b) publishing information on the effectiveness of the reporting regime annually and  (c) encouraging and enabling compliance by publishing information on trends in the criminal activities targeted by the directive.

Vernon Coaker: The Government are fully committed to fulfilling the requirements of the 3rd European Union Money Laundering Directive. Part 7 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 is compliant with the directive. In respect of the three issues identified, it will not be necessary for the Government to bring forward new legislation to achieve compliance. These obligations will be fulfilled by other means.
	The Government recognises that the importance of protecting the identity of those making suspicious activity reports (SARs) to the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), and has taken firm action to address this matter. After consultation with the private sector we issued detailed guidance to the police, other law enforcement agencies, and prosecution agencies on the importance of confidentiality in the handling of SARs. Adherence to this guidance is a condition of access to the SARs database maintained by the Serious Organised Crime Agency. This issue was also addressed in Sir Stephen Lander's review of the SARs regime which was published in April 2006. SOCA has subsequently set up a dedicated telephone line to enable any breaches of the guidelines to be reported. We will keep the guidance under review.
	SOCA has governance of the SARs regime and will be reporting to Ministers on its effectiveness through an annual report in October 2007. An unclassified version will be published on the SOCA website thereafter. This will include information on breaches of confidentiality.
	SOCA regularly shares information on trends and specific threats in money laundering activities with the reporting institutions, the regulatory bodies and law enforcement agencies. In addition, SOCA has established the following mechanisms to facilitate effective governance and dialogue about the SARs regime:
	a sub-committee of SOCA's board to oversee the regime's governance. Membership is comprised of representatives from the reporting sector, regulators, SOCA and end users;
	a vetted group, comprised of representatives of the reporting sectors, of law enforcement and of the key policy departments, to discuss sensitive casework and reporting issues, and to clear the distribution of SOCA Alerts and guidance;
	Sector specific seminars, aimed at providing directed feedback to individual sectors;
	a regulators' forum, to provide regulators with information about reporting within their sectors; and
	an alerts branch to issue warnings and advice to encourage businesses, the public and others to take appropriate action against serious organised crime.

Oakhill Secure Training Centre

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 19 February 2007,  Official Report, column 120W, on Oakhill Secure Training Centre, how many of the 80 places available are occupied; and how many were occupied on the last day of each month since January 2005.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 23 February 2007
	On 26 February, the latest date for which figures are available, 71 places were occupied. The other information requested is set out in the following table. The last column indicates how many places were available for occupation under the terms of the contract.
	
		
			  Available places and places occupied at Oakhill secure training centre January 2005-January 2007( 1) 
			  Month  Number of trainees  Places declared available 
			  2005   
			 January 50 60 
			 February 51 60 
			 March 55 60 
			 April 55 65 
			 May 54 69 
			 June 65 80 
			 July 64 80 
			 August 64 80 
			 September 63 80 
			 October 67 80 
			 November 62 80 
			 December 56 80 
			
			  2006   
			 January 55 80 
			 February 55 80 
			 March 59 80 
			 April 67 80 
			 May 73 80 
			 June 79 80 
			 July 71 80 
			 August 80 80 
			 September 77 80 
			 October 71 80 
			 November 74 80 
			 December 55 72 
			
			  2007   
			 January 71 80 
			 (1) Figures indicate places occupied and places available on last day of month.

Oakhill Secure Training Centre

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of19 February 2007,  Official Report, column 120W, on Oakhill Secure Training Centre, how many hours on average young offenders spent out of their rooms in a 24 hour period in the latest period for which figures are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 23 February 2007
	During January 2007, trainees spent an average of13 hours and 40 minutes out of their rooms.

Oakhill Secure Training Centre

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 19 February 2007,  Official Report, column 120W, on Oakhill Secure Training Centre, what the annual sickness rate amongst staff was in the last period for which figures are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 23 February 2007
	During 2006, the annual rate of sickness leave for operational staff was 9.6 per cent. and for non-operational staff, 7.0 per cent. These figures have been supplied by the Youth Justice Board and relate to employees of the contractor, G4S Justice Services. They do not include those employed by sub-contractors, for example providing health care or education services.

Oakhill Secure Training Centre

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of19 February 2007,  Official Report, column 120W, on Oakhill Secure Training Centre, how many staff were in post in the last day of each month since January 2005; and what the proposed establishment level was on each date.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 23 February 2007
	The staff-in-post figures are set out in the following table. They have been supplied by the Youth Justice Board and relate to employees of the contractor, G4S Justice Services. They do not include those employed by sub-contractors, for example providing health care or education services. Establishment figures are commercially sensitive and cannot, therefore, be disclosed.
	
		
			  Staff in post Oakhill secure training centre 
			  Month and year  Staff in post 
			  2005  
			 January 215 
			 February 219 
			 March 228 
			 April 218 
			 May 226 
			 June 225 
			 July 226 
			 August 221 
			 September 236 
			 October 223 
			 November 227 
			 December 208 
			   
			  2006  
			 January 215 
			 February 219 
			 March 228 
			 April 218 
			 May 226 
			 June 225 
			 July 226 
			 August 221 
			 September 218 
			 October 222 
			 November 205 
			 December 195 
			   
			  2007  
			 January 211

Passports

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  where he plans to situate his new passport application offices; and what the population is within 20 miles of each;
	(2)  how far away, in miles, from Grimsby the nearest passport application office will be following the planned opening of new offices.

Joan Ryan: The proposed locations for the69 interview offices are included in the following list.
	The passport interview network will provide an office within 15 minutes travelling time for just over half of the population of the UK and over 95 per cent. of the population will live within one hour's travelling of an office.
	A small number of potential applicants, estimated to be less than 0.7 per cent. of first-time passport applicants (4,000 out of 600,000 per annum), live more than an hour's journey from an interview office. For this group we are putting in place secure videoconferencing links with the customer visiting a partner organisation, for example, local council premises. We currently plan to have remote interview facilities in 25 locations; however we are still consulting with regional stakeholders and are considering additional locations.
	We have placed a document in the Library of the House of Commons setting out the planned network.
	To provide an analysis of the population within a20 mile radius of each of the 69 interview offices would incur a disproportionate cost. The interview office closest to Grimsby will be in Kingston-upon-Hull, a distance of approximately 33 miles.
	 Proposed locations for the 69 passport interview offices
	Aberdeen
	Dundee
	Edinburgh
	Glasgow
	Inverness
	Kilmarnock
	Oban
	Stirling
	Wick
	Berwick-upon-Tweed
	Carlisle
	Dumfries
	Galashiels
	Kendal
	Middlesbrough
	Newcastle
	Northallerton
	Armagh
	Belfast
	Coleraine
	Omagh
	Blackburn
	Liverpool
	Manchester
	Wrexham
	Hull
	Leeds
	Scarborough
	Sheffield
	York
	Aberystwyth
	Bristol
	Cheltenham
	Newport
	Swansea
	Swindon
	Birmingham
	Derby
	Leicester
	Northampton
	Shrewsbury
	Stoke on Trent
	Warwick
	Boston
	Bury St. Edmunds
	Ipswich
	Kings Lynn
	Lincoln
	Norwich
	Peterborough
	Barnstaple
	Camborne
	Exeter
	Plymouth
	St Austell
	Yeovil
	Andover
	Bournemouth
	Newport IOW
	Oxford
	Portsmouth
	Reading
	Chelmsford
	Crawley
	Dover
	Hastings
	London
	Luton
	Maidstone
	We are putting in place secure videoconferencing links with the customer visiting a partner organisation, for example, local council premises. We currently plan to have remote interview facilities in 25 locations; however we are still consulting with regional stakeholders and are considering additional locations.
	We have placed a document in the Library of the House of Commons setting out the planned network.
	To provide an analysis of the population within a20 mile radius of each of the 69 interview offices would incur a disproportionate cost.
	The interview office closest to Grimsby will be in Kingston-upon-Hull, a distance of approximately33 miles.

Police Custody: Death

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received on a public inquiry into the death of Paul Day in custody; whether he has plans for further study of the issues arising from the death; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I reiterate my condolences to Mr. and Mrs. Day, whom I met at the culmination of a process which included a series of internal investigations overseen by a panel on which sat the chief inspector of Prisons and Mr. and Mrs. Day, an extensive Coroner's inquest, and a series of follow-up discussions between Mr. and Mrs. Day and the then Deputy Director General of the Prison Service.
	Learning from Paul Day's death has contributed to significant change in prison segregation units. I have no plans to commission further studies.

Pornography

Dan Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further measures the Government plans to take to protect children and young people from pornographic material made available through file sharing programmes.

Vernon Coaker: All published material is subject to the Obscene Publications Act 1959 (OPA). Under this Act, it is a criminal offence to publish any article which is considered to be obscene; that is, an article, which, in the view of the court, tends to 'deprave and corrupt' a person who is likely to see hear or read it. This is a flexible test which has been shown to apply to material at a lower threshold where children are likely to access it. The OPA applies equally to material published over the internet, including material made available through file-sharing programmes.
	The Government, through the Home Secretary's Task Force for Child Protection on the Internet, is also promoting the development of a BSI kitemark for computer safety software which will help parents and carers choose the most effective technical means of protecting children from unsuitable internet based content and services, including those which prevent the use of file-sharing software. There is also to be new Safety Software Sub Group of the Taskforce to encourage internet and software services to seek accreditation, encourage take-up of the software by parents, and to ensure a process for review and updating the standard if it proves effective.

Prison Service: Public Appointments

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the recent appointments to the deputy governor posts at  (a) HM Prison Whitemoor and  (b) HM Prison Pentonville; whether the appointments were considered alongside the investigation conducted by Mr. Ron Tasker into performance standards issues at HM Prison Wandsworth; who was responsible for authorising the managed moves; whether the appointments were made following open competitions; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The process of new deputy governors being appointed to both prisons was managed, and was not as a result of open competition. Managed moves are used where it is in the business interests of the service to do so, including ensuring effective succession arrangements, and is fully in line with service policy. In these cases, the moves were approved by the relevant operational director. The appointments are unrelated to Mr. Tasker's investigation.

Prison Service: Public Appointments

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what factors he took into account in appointing the former London Area Manager to a new role within HM Prison Service; from which Department's budget within the organisation his role is financed; whether this appointment was advertised in accordance with HM Prison Service's policies and procedures and awarded as a consequence of open competition; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Mr. Keith Munns, who has retired, has been retained by the Deputy Director General of the Prison Service to support the completion of a report originally commissioned by Mr. Munns. Mr. Munns is currently working on a fee-paid, sessional basis, where no competition is required, and costs are met fromthe Deputy Director General's budget. Given his experience, it is likely that Mr. Munns will be asked to undertake other, specific work on the same basis.

Prisons: ICT

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the ratio is of computer terminals to  (a) uniformed staff and  (b) all prison staff; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: At 31 January 2007 there were 33,395 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff in officer and operational support grades. These are staff who would normally be expected to wear a uniform. The total FTE staff in post on this date was 47,878.
	The number of computer terminals on the core and legacy IT infrastructure at 31 January 2007 was 24,559 which included 20,532 located in HMPS establishments.
	The ratio of computer terminals to total staff is 1:1.95.
	It is not possible to analyse this ratio further as records are not kept of access to IT services by staff grade.
	Staff in post figures been derived from the Personnel Corporate Database and Oracle HRMS. These systems are subject to the normal inaccuracies associated with any large-scale reporting system.

Probation: Finance

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the expected outturn against planned expenditure is of  (a) the National Probation budget for 2006-07 and  (b) the budget of each probation area for 2006-07.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information is as follows:
	 (a) The information you requested for the National Probation Service, which includes the 42 National Probation Boards, budgets held centrally on behalf of Boards e.g. Drug Testing and Treatment Orders and the central costs for the National Probation Directorate (NPD) is:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 Resource budget 882.6 
			 Forecast outturn 880.0 
			 Capital budget 7.2 
			 Forecast outturn 6.0 
		
	
	 (b) The following table shows the most recent 2006-07 budget and forecast outturn information for the 42 National Probation Boards, including resource and capital. Outturn costs are made up of actual expenditure to mid February and a forecast to the end of the year. Due to various factors in the way that budgets are allocated there will be further additional budgetary allocations and reductions made to boards before the end of the financial year, these figures are therefore subject to revision.
	
		
			  Probation boards forecast outturn 2006-07 
			  £000 
			  Boards  2006-07 budget (February data)  2006-07 forecast outturn  Variance 
			 Avon and Somerset 19,819 19,625 -194 
			 Bedfordshire 8,471 8.604 133 
			 Cambridgeshire 9,311 9,440, 129 
			 Cheshire 15.739 15,367 -372 
			 Cumbria 7,952 8,073 121 
			 Derbyshire 12,997, 12,847 -150 
			 Devon and Cornwall 19,710 19,338 -372 
			 Dorset 8,237 8,469 232 
			 Durham 10,284 10,294 10 
			 Essex 19,010 18.238 -772 
			 Gloucestershire 6,948 6,988 40 
			 Hampshire 23,122, 23,138 16 
			 Hertfordshire 10,609 10,346 -263 
			 Humberside 16,194 15,946 -248 
			 Kent 20,414 20.264 -150 
			 Lancashire 21,508 21,085 -423 
			 Leicestershire 13,855 13,572 -283 
			 Lincolnshire 8,938 l9,061 123 
			 Norfolk 10,631 10,568 -63 
			 Northamptonshire 8,843 8,679 -164 
			 North Yorkshire 9,512 9,322 -190 
			 Nottinghamshire 18,223 18,868 645 
			 Staffordshire 15,777 16,140 363 
			 Suffolk 9,467 9,300 -167 
			 Surrey 10,081 9,647 -434 
			 Sussex 17,068 16,943 -125 
			 Teesside 13,071 13,0411 -30 
			 Thames Valley 24,362 24,262 -100 
			 Warwickshire 6,765 6,857 92 
			 West Mercia 13,642 13,476 -166 
			 Wiltshire 7,615 7,855 240 
			 Greater Manchester 47,062 47,565 503 
			 Merseyside 28,595 28,812 217 
			 Northumbria 27,050 27,234 184 
			 South Yorkshire 24,138 24,238 100 
			 West Midlands 53,542 53,792 250 
			 West Yorkshire 38,297 38,297 0 
			 London 137,651 140,352 2,701 
			 Dyfed-Powys 8,088 8,088 0 
			 Gwent 10,946 10,741 -205 
			 North Wales 11,751 11,517 -234 
			 South Wales 24,465 24,063 -402 
			 Total 829,759 830,352 593

Sexual Offences

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the re-offending rate was of sex offenders who  (a) attended and  (b) did not attend the sexual offender treatment programme in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: An analysis of the data on overall reconviction rates for sex offenders who attended and did not attend the sexual offender treatment programme is not available.
	Evaluations of the Sex Offender Treatment Programme provide evidence of a small but positive impact of the programme on future offending. For example, research found a statistically significant reduction in combined sexual and violent reconviction for HMPS SOTP participants compared to matched non-participants (although not for sexual reconviction) (Friendship, Mann & Beech, 2003). The National Offender Management Service is developing an evaluation strategy for the sex offender treatment programme.

Sexual Offences

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance his Department produces on the circumstances in which a sex offender on licence should be recalled.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The circumstances in which recall action should be initiated on any offender on licence are laid out in National Standards 2005. These set out minimum standards to be followed in the event of any failure to comply with a requirement of a sentence. There is no specific guidance on recall of sex offenders. probation officers are trained to assess the level of risk in each case, including sex offenders, and act in order to protect the public.
	Probation Circular 16/2005 provides additional guidance to offender managers on the procedures that they must follow when recommending to the Release and Recall Section (RRS) that an offender be recalled. RRS acts on behalf of the Secretary of State. The Circular includes specific instructions for emergency requests, where the offender presents a high, or increasing, risk of serious harm and is subject to Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements. In such cases, the offender's licence is revoked within two hours of notification.

Wandsworth Prison: Dismissal

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff have been dismissed at HM Prison Wandsworth in each of the last 12 months; what the grounds were for each dismissal; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information is set out in the table and is that held by the establishment. The figures refer to the month of the governor's initial decision to dismiss from the service.
	It would not be appropriate to list the reasons for dismissal by month as this would enable individuals to be identified, but of the 15 individuals listed in the table nine were dismissed for medical inefficiency, four for conduct and discipline reasons, and two for a failed probationary period. Some of these dismissals are still in the appeal process.
	
		
			  Staff dismissed from Wandsworth prison in each of the last 12 months 
			  Month  Number of staff 
			  2006  
			 March 0 
			 April 2 
			 May 1 
			 June 0 
			 July 0 
			 August 1 
			 September 2 
			 October 1 
			 November 4 
			 December 1 
			   
			  2007  
			 January 0 
			 February 3

Fuel and Water Prices

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster What assessment she has made of the impact of recent trends in fuel and water prices on socially excluded groups.

Patrick McFadden: The Government have put in place a number of measures to help socially excluded groups with fuel and water costs. These include spending some £800 million on Warm Front between 2005 and 2008, and almost £2 billion on winter fuel payments last winter. We have also removed the threat of water disconnection for all households.
	In addition to these measures, we welcome the recent falls in energy prices for domestic customers.

Social Exclusion Frameworks

Meg Hillier: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster What steps she is taking to involve voluntary sector groups in building future social exclusion policy frameworks.

Hilary Armstrong: The third sector plays a key role in providing advice and support services to socially excluded groups. As part of the Cabinet Office's responsibility for the Social Exclusion Task Force and Office of the Third Sector, Ministers and officials from my Department regularly meet with stakeholders and members of voluntary organisations and groups.

Charities: Statutory Funding

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Whether she has met the Chief Charity Commissioner to discuss her recent report on the effect of statutory funding on charities; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Miliband: I met the Chair of the Charity Commission, Dame Suzi Leather today, and discussed a range of issues with her.

Data Sharing

Andrew Selous: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster If she will make a statement on plans to increase data sharing across Government.

Patrick McFadden: My colleagues in the Department of Constitutional Affairs set out the Government's position on data sharing last September. Of course this must be done in a responsible manner but we believe there can be significant advantages for the public if different Departments co-operate to ensure services are personalised and built around individual needs rather than forcing people to give the same information, over and over again, to different Departments and agencies.

Social Exclusion: Education and Employment

James McGovern: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment she has made of the correlation between educational qualifications and employment in developing proposals to tackle social exclusion.

Patrick McFadden: Getting a job has an obvious a positive effect on life-chances and is an important means of tackling social exclusion. We also know that getting good educational qualifications is the best way of securing a job.
	The Government have prioritised engagement with people who are not in education, employment or training because the correlation between good educational qualifications, employment and tackling social exclusion is such a strong one.

Adoption: Catholic Church

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to his statement of21 February 2007,  Official Report, column 131WH, in which the Minister referred to negotiations taking place between the Scottish Executive and Westminster, what discussions he has had on the question of exemption from the Sexual Orientation Regulations for Catholic voluntary adoption agencies in  (a) Scotland and  (b) England and Wales.

Parmjit Dhanda: Departmental officials have attended a number of meetings at which this issue was discussed. In addition, I spoke at the meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Adoption and Fostering on1 November 2006, and at the Westminster Hall debate on 'The Future of the Voluntary Adoption Sector' on 21 February 2007, where the issue of the Sexual Orientation Regulations was raised.
	The Prime Minister announced on 29 January 2007 that there can be no exemption for faith-based adoption agencies from the Sexual Orientation Regulations. However, he made clear that, in the interests of children, there will be a transition period for existing adoption agencies until the end of 2008. The Prime Minister also announced that during this period there will be a statutory duty for these agencies to refer on to other agencies those whom, because of their sexual orientation, they are unwilling to assess as prospective adopters.
	The Scottish Executive and Westminster continue to be in touch with one another about how the transition period will work in practice in Scotland. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for the Department for Communities and Local Government, is responsible for taking forward the regulations underpinning the Equality Act 2006.

After School Clubs

Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the provision of out-of-school child care for children aged 11 years or over in the context of the formulation of his policy on lone parents.

Beverley Hughes: Local authorities have an existing duty to carry out an annual assessment of child care provision in their area, including out-of-school provision for 11-year-olds. From April 2007, the ChildcareAct 2006 places a new duty on local authorities to carry out a comprehensive assessment of the sufficiency of child care in their area, taking into account for all age groups the demand for child care, supply of child are, and any gaps between the two. Jobcentre Plus are designated 'partners' of local authorities in the fulfilment of this duty. Recently published statutory guidance highlights the importance of considering the child care needs of lone parents and their families.
	Local authorities must complete their first sufficiency assessment within one year in order to prepare for their new duty, coming into force in April 2008, to secure sufficient child care provision to enable parents to enter or remain in work, or to make the transition to work. Statutory guidance will make it clear that local authorities will need to ensure that there is sufficient provision available to meet the needs of families at risk of social exclusion, including lone parent families. The greater availability of child care should make it easier for lone parents to return to work.

Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to improve front-line services provided by the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service;
	(2)  if he will publish the business case for the recommendations contained in the report Organising for Quality produced by the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service;
	(3)  what he expects the effect of the recommendations contained in Organising for Quality to be upon the budget of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service in each of the next two financial years;
	(4)  if he will increase the staff capacity in the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service for services in  (a) public and  (b) private law;
	(5)  on what evidential basis he expects the recommendations contained in the report of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service Organising for Quality to improve services for children and families.

Parmjit Dhanda: These are matters for the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS). Anthony Douglas, the Chief Executive, has written to my hon. Friend with this information and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
	 Letter from Anthony Douglas, dated 2 March 2007:
	I am writing to you in response to the five parliamentary questions that you tabled recently:
	PQ 123378—To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what steps he is taking to improve front-line services provided by the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service.
	CAFCASS is currently consulting on a major strategy for the next 3 years, set out in its recent consultation paper "Organising for Quality". A final consultation on new National Standards for CAFCASS is part of that consultation. Practice development is the strongest single theme of the proposed changes, and the implementation plan formulated after the consultation ends will be a published document, available at the end of March 2007.
	PQ 123385—To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if he will publish the business case for the recommendations contained in the report, Organising for Quality, produced by the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service.
	CAFCASS will ensure that all proposals from its consultation paper, "Organising for Quality", which it decides to take forward, can be funded from within its annual grant. CAFCASS publishes its accounts at the end of each financial year and year on year changes can be seen.
	PQ 123389—To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what he expects the effect of the recommendations contained in Organising for Quality to be upon the budget of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service in each of the two financial years.
	"Organising for Quality" makes several recommendations about how CAFCASS's services can be improved within its annual budget allocation. These proposals are currently out to consultation. Priorities for each year will be set once the annual budget is know. Overarching priorities for the next three years will be set out in CAFCASS's new business plan, which will be a plan for 2007-10.
	PQ 123398—To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if he will increase the staff capacity in the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service for services in (a) public and (b) private law.
	CAFCASS continue to make every effort to ensure that the greatest possible percentage of its annual budget is spent on front-line practitioners and administrators. Expenditure on employed staff in these categories has increased slightly over the last five years.
	PQ 123415—To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, on what evidential basis he expects the recommendations contained in the report of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, Organising for Quality, to improve services for children and families.
	CAFCASS will publish its proposals for future years by the end of March 2007, taking into account a range of factors, including evidence from its current programmes, from close analysis of its management information, including service trends, and having considered all the responses to its current consultation paper, "Organising for Quality".
	A copy of this reply will be placed in the House Library.

Class Sizes: Co-education

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent research his Department is undertaking into  (a) class sizes and  (b) co-education.

Jim Knight: The Department has commissioned and published research to assess the effect of class size on educational attainment and classroom processes ("Pupil adult ratio differences and educational progress over reception and key stage 1". DfES Research Series RR335; "The effects of class size on attainmentand classroom processes in English Primary Schools (Years 4 to 6) 2000-03". DfES Research Series RR605).
	While the Department has not commissioned research that directly relates to co-education issues, it has investigated interventions, including teaching in single sex classes, aimed at "Raising Boy's Achievement" (DfES Research Series RR636).
	No current research on either topic is underway.

Degrees

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of people of working age in  (a) Eastbourne,  (b) East Sussex and  (c) England hold a qualification (i) at degree level, (ii) at degree level equivalent and (iii) above degree level.

Bill Rammell: Table 1, shows the percentage of people of working age in Eastbourne, East Sussex and England who hold a first degree, another HE level qualification and a postgraduate level qualification, from the 2005/06 Annual Population Survey.
	
		
			  Table 1 
			  Percentage 
			   Eastbourne  East Sussex  England 
			 First degree 5 10 12 
			 Other higher education level qualification 12 12 9 
			 Postgraduate and equivalent 6 7 6

Departments: EC Action

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what policy developments there have been in his area of responsibility that responded to EU decisions recommendations and communications in each of the last three years as referred to in the answer of 5 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1125W, on EU integration.

Bill Rammell: National policies are developed inline with national priorities, and take account of a number of factors, which may include EU decisions, recommendations and communications, as well as the exchange of best practice. EU competence in education and training is limited to supporting and supplementing the actions of member states, and fully respects the responsibility of member states for the content and organisation of education and training.

English Language

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures his Department is taking to ensure that those least able to pay can access training in English for Speakers of Other Languages.

Phil Hope: Those least able to pay for an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) course will be eligible for full fee remission if they are in receipt of jobseekers allowance or an income related benefit including working tax credit.
	Support for those wishing to access ESOL courses is provided by local colleges and training providers. The local Learning and Skills Council will be able to provide details of local provision.
	A Race Equality Impact Assessment is currently being conducted that consider further the impact of proposed changes to eligibility for ESOL courses and this will be published shortly.

Family Courts: Manpower

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to recruit and retain an experienced workforce in children and family court advisory and support services.

Parmjit Dhanda: This is a matter for the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS). Anthony Douglas, the Chief Executive, has written to the hon. Member with this information and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Library.
	 Letter from Anthony Douglas, dated 2 March 2007:
	I am writing to you in response to Parliamentary Question 122547.
	PQ122547—To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what plans he has to recruit and retain an experienced workforce in children and family court advisory and support services.
	CAFCASS already has a highly experienced workforce and new Family Court Advisors generally have at least 3 and usually over 5 years post-qualifying experience. CAFCASS carries out extensive training to ensure the skills of all staff are up to date, and that its training programmes are fit for purpose. A strategic pay review is underway, to ensure that levels of pay are competitive. CAFCASS evaluates the success of its recruitment initiatives and carries out exit interviews with staff who leave to ensure any lessons can be learnt. A comprehensive workforce strategy is being consulted on internally at present, and this will address all CAFCASS workforce needs over the next 3-5 years.
	A copy of this reply will be placed in the House Library.

Higher Education: Student Numbers

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many university applications there were in each of the past seven years by people living in  (a) England,  (b) the North East region and  (c) Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland constituency.

Bill Rammell: The available information is taken from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) and is given in the table. UCAS do not produce statistics on applicants by parliamentary constituency.
	
		
			  English applicants through UCAS to full time higher education courses 
			  Year of entry  English domiciles  Of which: From the North East 
			 2000 321,343 14,561 
			 2001 330,856 15,101 
			 2002 331,602 15,146 
			 2003 337,593 15,841 
			 2004 339,967 15,571 
			 2005 368,801 16,360 
			 2006 358,067 16,127 
			  Source: UCAS annual datasets 
		
	
	Latest figures for entry in 2007, show that there were 291,075 applicants from England as at 15 January 2007. This represented a rise of 7.1 per cent. over the same point in the 2006 entry cycle. Of these English applicants, 12,003 were from the North East.

Higher Education: Student Wastage

Jon Cruddas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what rates of student retention were in each academic year from 1996 to 2007, broken down by  (a) social class,  (b) ethnicity and  (c) age.

Bill Rammell: Non-continuation figures are available for full-time entrants to higher education, and these provide an indication of student retention. These figures show the proportion of entrants who do not continue in higher education after their first year. The rates for young (under 21) and mature (21 and over) entrants to full-time first degrees are shown in the table:
	
		
			  Percentage of UK-domiciled entrants to full-time first degrees in HEIs in the UK not continuing in higher education after their first year 
			   Young  Mature 
			 1996/97 7.6 15.3 
			 1997/98 7.6 15.3 
			 1998/99 7.9 16.0 
			 1999/2000 7.8 15.9 
			 2000/01 7.1 14.5 
			 2001/02 7.3 14.9 
			 2002/03 7.8 15.4 
			 2003/04 7.7 15.6 
			  Source: "Performance Indicators in Higher Education", published by HESA 
		
	
	Non-continuation rates have not been published by National Statistics Socio-Economic Class (NS-SEC). However, HEFCE have provided non-continuation figures for young full-time first degree entrants in 2002/03 and 2003/04, broken down by NS-SEC for broad groups of entry qualification levels. These figures are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Percentage of young entrants to full-time first degrees in HEIs in the UK in2002/03 and 2003/04 not continuing in higher education after their first year 
			Entrants 2002-03  Entrants 2003-04 
			  Entry qualification categories  Tariff points  NS-SEC 1 to3  NS-SEC 4 to 7  All entrants with known NS-SEC  NS-SEC 1 to3  NS-SEC 4 to 7  All entrants with known NS-SEC 
			 A-levels or Highers: Unknown 11.6 14.7 12.7 8.1 11.8 9.1 
			  Up to 200 11.3 11.3 11.3 11.1 11.9 11.4 
			  201 to 290 7.8 8.0 7.9 7.6 8.4 7.9 
			  291 to 380 4.7 5.1 4.8 4.9 5.8 5.2 
			  Above 380 2.4 3.2 2.6 2.5 3.4 2.7 
			 
			 Other qualifications  9.4 10.9 9.9 9.2 11.1 9.9 
			 
			 All qualifications  6.4 8.1 6.9 6.0 8.2 6.7 
			  Source: Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) 
		
	
	Figures are not available for earlier years because the National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification was introduced in 2001 and was adopted by UCAS and HESA in 2002.
	These data pre-date the 2006/07 introduction of tuition fee loans ensuring that no student has to find their fees either before or during their studies, the introduction of non-repayable maintenance grants of up to £2,700 for those from low income households and university bursaries. Alongside this, the Higher Education Funding Council for England's Widening Participation Allocation (WPA) continues to provide the HE sector with funding to improve retention rates (for 2006/07 retention funding amounts to £240 million of the £345 million total WPA).
	There are currently no non-continuation figures available which are broken down by ethnic group.

Ofsted

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  if he will place in the Library copies of the Ofsted staff surveys for  (a) 2004 and  (b) 2006;
	(2)  if he will publish Ofsted's disciplinary procedures and guidelines on bullying in the workplace;
	(3)  how much was spent by Ofsted on external press relations and communications advice in each of the last three years; and what the planned expenditure was for the 2007-08 financial year;
	(4)  how many staff work for Ofsted; and how many left their posts in each of the last three years;
	(5)  which positions of employment are being advertised by Ofsted.

Jim Knight: holding answer 1 March 2007
	These matters are for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to my hon. Friend and copies of her replies have been placed in the Library.
	 Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 2 March 2007:
	 Parliamentary Question Number 124433: Ofsted Staff Survey
	Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for reply.
	You asked whether we would place in the Library copies of the Ofsted staff surveys for 2004 and 2006.
	As requested, a copy of the 2004 and 2006 staff surveys have been placed in the Library for your information.
	A copy of this reply has been sent to Jim Knight MP, Minister of State for Schools, and will be placed in the Library of both Houses.
	 Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 2 March 2007:
	 Parliamentary Question Number 124435: External Press Relations and Communications Advice
	Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for reply.
	You asked how much was spent by Ofsted on external press relations and communications advice in each of the last three years; and what the planned expenditure was for the 2007-08 financial year.
	Ofsted manages external press relations through an in-house press team and since 2005 has made use of services provided by the Government News Network to support regional media enquiries. Through our Corporate Learning and Development team, we also run media training courses. The total cost of these services in 2004-05 and 2005-06 respectively were £309,907 and £330,895.
	As we have not yet reached the end of this financial year, we are unable to give final costs for 2006-07, but these will be in the region of £400k. The forecast spend for 2007-08 is £470k. The increase reflects Ofsted's expanded remit.
	A copy of this reply has been sent to Jim Knight MP, Minister of State for Schools, and will be placed in the Library of both Houses.
	 Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 2 March 2007:
	 Parliamentary Question Number 124434: Ofsted's Disciplinary Procedures and Guidelines on Bullying
	Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for reply.
	As requested, I have enclosed copies of Ofsted's Disciplinary Policy and Discrimination, Bullying and Harassment Policy for your information.
	A copy of this reply has been sent to Jim Knight MP, Minister of State for Schools, and will be placed in the Library of both Houses.
	 Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 2 March 2007:
	 Parliamentary Question Number 124436: Staffing
	Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief
	Inspector, for reply.
	You asked how many staff work for Ofsted and how many staff left their posts in
	each of the last three years.
	At the end of December 2006, 2190 full time equivalent staff worked for Ofsted.
	We have shown the figures in two parts. Each year we have had leavers due to staff turnover but, in addition, during 2005 and 2006 Ofsted undertook a significant restructuring programme entitled 'Improving Ofsted'. This programme was undertaken to improve business efficiency and reduce our overall running costs. Ofsted closed eight of its twelve offices, resulting in a number of redundancies. We have therefore identified those leavers separately from the rest:
	
		
			  January to December  Normal leavers  Improving Ofsted leavers  Total leavers 
			 2004 291 0 291 
			 2005 344 198 542 
			 2006 285 298 583 
		
	
	A copy of this reply has been sent to Jim Knight MP, Minister of State for Schools, and will be placed in the Library of both Houses.
	 Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 2 March 2007:
	 Parliamentary Question Number 124437: Positions of Employment Currently Being Advertised by Ofsted
	Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for reply.
	You asked which positions of employment are being advertised by Ofsted.
	The following positions are currently being advertised on our website (www.ofsted.gov.uk):
	Childcare Inspectors (temporary posts), Midlands region
	Contact Centre Administrators, National Business Unit, Manchester
	The following positions have recently been advertised:
	Director, Corporate Services
	Director, Children
	Director, Learning and Skills
	Her Majesty's Inspectors (HMI) - annual campaign
	Administrators, Midlands (8 posts in Education and Children's Directorate)
	Case Officers, Complaints, Investigation and Enforcement, Midlands (5 posts)
	The following positions will be advertised shortly:
	Deputy Director, Corporate Services
	Deputy Director, Children
	Deputy Director, Learning and Skills
	Deputy Director, Finance
	Secondment opportunities for Headteachers/senior managers
	Statistician, Post 16 Education team, Research, Analysis and International
	Division
	Our recruitment activity is slightly higher than normal because of the need to fill essential posts in the run up to the creation of the New Ofsted following the passage of the Education and Inspection Act last year.
	A copy of this reply has been sent to Jim Knight MP, Minister of State for Schools, and will be placed in the Library of both Houses.

Pupil Exclusions: Education

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what obligations there are on local education authorities to provide education for excluded pupils; and what funding is available for these pupils;
	(2)  what guidelines his Department issues on recouping funds for excluded pupils.

Jim Knight: The Department issues guidance on arrangements for money to follow permanently excluded pupils. This is published online at:
	http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/behaviour/exclusion/guidance/part8/
	In addition to these statutory arrangements local authorities have discretion to include in their local funding formula a factor that makes a further adjustment to a school's budget for a permanent exclusion. This provides the local authority with additional funding that can be used to support the pupil while he attends a Pupil Referral Unit or other provision or be given to an admitting school.
	Currently local authorities are committed to providing suitable full-time education for all permanently excluded pupils from the 16(th )day of their exclusion until such time as they are admitted to another school. From1 September 2007 (subject to Parliamentary approval) there will be a statutory duty on local authorities to provide suitable full-time education for all permanently excluded pupils from the 6(th )day of their exclusion. We estimate the cost to local authorities of provisionfor pupils that have been permanently excluded is£3.5 million in 2007-08 (for September 2007 to March 2008), which local authorities will need to meet from within the 5 per cent. increase in the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) per pupil that all authorities have received for 2007-08. Subject to the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review, funding will be included in authorities' DSG allocations for 2008-09 and beyond to cover the whole year cost. Guidance on implementing day 6 provision is published online
	http://www.teachernetgov.uk/docbank/index.cfm?id=10834
	Copies of this guidance, and the guidance referred to above, have been placed in the Library.

Pupils: Intimidation

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures have been taken in the last five years to help teachers to tackle homophobic bullying of  (a) pupils and  (b) teachers in schools.

Jim Knight: The Government believe there is no place for homophobic bullying in schools and our general guidance on bullying and the Anti-Bullying Charter make this clear. In 2004 my Department and the Department of Health jointly published guidance on challenging homophobia in schools called "Stand up for us". Recognising that homophobic bullying can be a particularly difficult issue for many teachersto deal with, my Department has more recently commissioned Stonewall and Educational Action Challenging Homophobia (EACH) to produce web-based guidance for schools which will look more specifically at how to prevent and tackle homophobic bullying. We intend to issue the guidance later this year and will follow this up with a series of regional seminars for local authorities and schools.
	The responsibility for ensuring that teachers are not discriminated against at work rests with their employer (the governing body of the school or thelocal authority). The Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 outlaws discrimination and harassment in employment and vocational training on the grounds of sexual orientation, and schools and staff representatives work together to ensure that the framework provided by the Regulations keep all school staff free from homophobic bullying and harassment.

Pupils: Sexuality

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to the answer of21 February 2007,  Official Report, columns 1829-30W, on pupils: sexuality, what steps he is taking to combat bullying of transgendered children in schools.

Jim Knight: Further to my answer of 21 February 2007, my officials are meeting transsexual representative groups to discuss their concerns, and we will consider how best to proceed in the light of those discussions.

Undergraduate Bankruptcy

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many undergraduate students resident in  (a) Suffolk,  (b) the East of England and  (c) England declared themselves bankrupt in each year since 1997.

Bill Rammell: Available data are shown in the table.
	
		
			  Number of students( 1)  with publicly-owned student loans who notified the Student Loans Company (SLC) of their bankruptcy, or individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) while studying( 2) —Students domiciled in Suffolk, East of England government office region and England—Calendar years of bankruptcy or IVA 1997 to 2006 
			  Calendar year  Suffolk( 3)  East of England( 3)  England( 4) 
			 1997 (5)— (5)— 15 
			 1998 (5)— (5)— 15 
			 1999 (5)— (5)— 15 
			 2000 (5)— (5)— 15 
			 2001 (5)— (5)— 15 
			 2002 (5)— (5)— 10 
			 2003 (5)— 5 50 
			 2004 (5)— 10 105 
			 2005 (5)— (5)— 35 
			 2006 (5)— (5)— 15 
			 (1 )Figures are rounded to the nearest five borrowers. There may be delays between borrowers becoming bankrupt and notifying SLC, therefore figures can increase over time, particularly for the most recent years. There may be some borrowers who do not notify the SLC of their bankruptcy, as the Higher Education Act 2004 included provisions to prevent student loans being written-off on bankruptcy. Students on postgraduate initial teacher training courses can be eligible for loans. The table covers all student loan borrowers, and therefore may include those who took out loans for postgraduate study in addition to those who were undergraduate students. (2) The table shows those who became bankrupt or made an IVA before or during the last academic year in which they took out a student loan. (3) Income-contingent loans only. Information on mortgage-style loan borrowers who are bankrupt or have IVAs is not available by local authority or government office region. (4 )Mortgage-style and income-contingent loans. (5) Nil or less than five.  Source: Student Loans Company 
		
	
	Media coverage of the issue of student loan borrowers declaring themselves bankrupt during the passage of the Enterprise Act in 2002 may have contributed to the rise in bankruptcies in 2003 and 2004. In addition, one of the effects of the Enterprise Act itself was to reduce the period of discharge from bankruptcy from three years to one.
	Provisions were therefore included in the Higher Education Act 2004 to prevent student loans being written off on bankruptcy. This may explain the subsequent fall. While borrowers who have become bankrupt remain liable to repay their student loans, they continue to benefit from the same terms as other borrowers, with repayments linked to income and no obligation to repay if their annual income is below £15,000.

Child Support Agency

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which targets are in place for the processing and clearing of Child Support Agency cases.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive.
	He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 7 March 2007:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which targets are in place for the processing and clearing of Child Support Agency cases.
	The Child Support Agency has been set six targets by the Secretary of State for 2006-07, which were published in the Agency's Business Plan, a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library, or on the internet via the following link:
	www.csa.gov.uk/pdf/English/reports/plan0607.pdf.
	Two of these targets relate to the processing and clearing of applications received since the new scheme was introduced in March 2003.
	The first concerns the volume of applications being cleared and states that: by 31 March 2007, the Agency will have reduced the volume of uncleared new scheme applications by 25 per cent. of the amount outstanding by the end of March 2006.
	The second concerns the speed with which new applications should be processed and stated that: by 31 March 2007, the Agency will clear 55 per cent. of new applications within12 weeks of receipt and 80 per cent. within 26 weeks.
	The Agency's latest performance against these targets was published in table 2.1 and table 3 of the December Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary Statistics, a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library, or on the internet via the following link:
	www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/child_support/csa_quarterly _dec06.asp

Child Support Agency

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether Child Support Agency staff have received guidance on the prioritisation of the Agency's caseload by age of case; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 23 February 2007
	The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter of the Chief Executive. He will write to the right hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 7 March 2007:
	In rely to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of Stat for Work and Pensions, whether Child Support Agency staff have received guidance on the prioritisation of the Agency's caseload by age of case; and if he will make a statement.
	The Secretary of State sets a number of targets to measure the performance, and set the priorities, of the Child Support Agency on a yearly basis. The Secretary of State's case clearance target by March 2007 is to clear 55 per cent. of cases received that month within 12 weeks, and 80 per cent. of cases within 26 weeks. In addition, under the Operational Improvement Plan, the Agency is committed to reducing the number of uncleared new scheme applications by 25 per cent. by March 2007. The Agency issues guidance to its employees in order to ensure people and resources are effectively deployed to meet these targets and commitments, and to ensure more money gets to more children as quickly as possible.
	As of December 2006, 55 per cent. of Agency cases were cleared within 12 weeks, up from 49 per cent. on December 2005, and 74 per cent. of cases were cleared within 26 weeks, up from 64 per cent. in December 2005. Further, as of December 2006 the number of uncleared new scheme applications stood as 186,000 and the total number of uncleared cases in the last three months has been the lowest since comparable records began in 1999.

Child Support Agency: Debt Collection

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what additional amount of unpaid maintenance debt has been recovered in each month since the introduction of the Operational Improvement Plan; what new debt accrued in each month; what maintenance remained uncollected in each month; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 19 February 2007
	The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the chief executive. He will write to the Rt. Hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 7 March 2007:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what additional amount of unpaid maintenance debt has been recovered in each month since the introduction of the Operational Improvement Plan; what new debt accrued in each month; what maintenance remained uncollected in each month; and if he will make a statement.
	The Operational Improvement Plan announced in Parliament on 9(th) February 2006 and launched in April 2006 aims over the next three years to improve our service to clients, increase the amount of money we collect, achieve greater compliance from non-resident parents and as a result achieve a reduction in child poverty and a better standard of living for many more children.
	The initial phase of the Operational Improvement Plan has focused on the organisational and operational restructuring of the Agency, and the training of our people to increase our capacity and capability. No commitments were made for the first year but once this phase is complete we can expect to see more clearly the benefits of the Plan.
	Even now early results show improvements in several key areas and more money is already getting to more children; at the end of December 2006 compared with a year ago:
	58,000 more children were in receipt of maintenance or had a maintenance direct arrangement in place
	59 per cent of new scheme cases with a liability made a payment or arranged Maintenance Direct (up from 54 per cent)
	Uncleared new scheme applications were down by 13 per cent (across both schemes) since March 2006 and in the last three months have been at their lowest since comparable records began in May 1999
	55 per cent of applications were cleared within twelve weeks (up from 49 per cent and meeting target level for March 2007) and 74 per cent within six months (up from 64 per cent)
	The Agency answered 97 per cent of queued calls over12 months (up from 90 per cent)
	The Operational Improvement Plan included plans to contract out some of the outstanding debt owed to parents with care, to private debt collection agencies. By the end of January 2007 just under £750,000 had been collected by these agencies. A letter sent by the Agency to inform clients that their debt is to be transferred to the external debt collection agencies had also resulted in an additional £640,000 collected by the Agency by the end of January 2007.
	During the year ending March 2006 a total amount of£13.5 million was collected through specific legal enforcement work, an average monthly amount of £1.1 million. This has increased to £13.53 million between April and December 2006, giving a monthly average of £1.5 million.
	The Agency continues to improve the collection of child support maintenance arrears and during the year ending March 2006 a total amount of £80.8 million was collected, an average monthly amount of £6.7 million. This has increased to an average monthly amount of £7.3 million between April and December 2006.
	The attached table states the average debt growth and the total debt outstanding at the end of each month since the implementation of the Operational Improvement Plan.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.
	
		
			  Annex A: the average debt growth and total outstanding debt each month since the implementation of the Operational Improvement Plan 
			  2006  Average debt growth per month over previous 12 months (£ million)  Total outstanding debt at the end of each month (£ billion) 
			 April 19 3.514 
			 May 19 3.533 
			 June 19 3.550 
			 July 19 3.570 
			 August 18 3.588 
			 September 17 3.602 
			 October 16 3.615 
			 November 16 3.630 
			 December 15 3.645 
			  Notes: 1. The above figures have not been audited. Figures will not be finalised until the publication of the CSA Annual Report and Accounts. 2. Figures are rounded to the nearest million.

Consultants

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies spent on external consultancy in each year from 1996-97 to 2006-07; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: The DWP was formed in June 2001 and I have provided the total spent on external consultants (including VAT) in each year since formation broken down by agency.
	
		
			  £ million 
			  Agency  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Jobcentre Plus(1) 4.70 5.29 8.46 7.76 17.63 
			 The Pension Service(1) 0 1.06 3.06 9.28 15.16 
			 Child Support Agency 1.18 4.00 0.94 1.06 4.23 
			 Disability and Carers Service(2) n/a n/a n/a 0.35 3.76 
			 The Rent Service(3) n/a n/a n/a 0.15 0.10 
			 Corporate Centre and NDPBs(4) 88.59 130.70 294.27 149.78 89.42 
			 DWP Total 94.46 141.04 306.72 168.37 130.29 
			 n/a = Not available (1) Jobcentre Plus and The Pension Service were established as agencies in April 2002. (2) The Disability and Carers Service was established as an agency in November 2004. (3) The Rent Service became part of DWP in April 2004. (4) The Appeals Service moved to the Department of Constitutional Affairs in April 2006.

Departments: Equal Opportunities

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department has a gender  (a) strategy and  (b) equality action plan in place.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 5 March 2007
	The information is as follows:
	 (a) The Department will be taking the steps outlined in the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (Public Authorities)(Statutory Duties) Order 2006 (No. 2930) which are due to come into force on 6 April 2007. The Department's Gender Equality Schemes were published on 1 December 2006 and set out the strategy for gender equality.
	 (b) Each business within the Department has committed to objectives for addressing areas of concern and for ensuring that we meet the requirements of the Gender Duty. These objectives were set out in action plans for each business, which were published in the Gender Equality Schemes on1 December 2006.

Departments: Redundancy

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 30 March 2006,  Official Report, column 1200W, on departmental cost, how much was spent on  (a) involuntary and  (b) voluntary staff exit schemes in (i) his Department and (ii) each agency of the Department in each year since 2005-06; how much is planned to be spent for 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: The amounts spent by the Department and its agencies on voluntary staff exit schemes in 2005-06 are set out in the following tables The in-year costs for each agency include lump sums paid to individuals on the day of departure, plus Annual Compensation Payments for exits in that year and from previous years. They exclude Annual Compensation Payments for future years.
	The Department is unable to differentiate between voluntary and involuntary exits schemes but to date there has been only one compulsory redundancy.
	Departmental Actual and Planned Expenditure
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2005-06 139.98 
			 2006-07 67.58 
			 2007-08 131.74 
		
	
	 Expenditure in 2005-06
	
		
			  Business  £ million 
			 The Pension Service 14.06 
			 Child Support Agency 4.48 
			 Disability and Carers Service 6.98 
			 The Appeals Service 0.16 
			 Jobcentre Plus 69.01 
			 Health and Safety Executive 1.81 
			 The Rent Service 0.00 
			 Corporate and Shared Services 43.48 
			 Total 139.98 
			  Note: A proportion of the ongoing annual pension payments for early retirement cases are held centrally and included in the Departmental Corporate Units' line. 
		
	
	 Expenditure in 2006-07
	The actual expenditure for the Department and its agencies on voluntary staff exit schemes to January 2007 and are forecast for February and March 2007 is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Business  £ million 
			 The Pension Service 3.71 
			 Child Support Agency 1.34 
			 Disability and Carers Service 0.26 
			 The Appeals Service — 
			 Jobcentre Plus 45.38 
			 Health and Safety Executive 0 
			 The Rent Service 0.33 
			 Departmental Corporate Units 16.56 
			 Total 67.58 
			  Note: The Appeals Service is no longer an agency of the Department. 
		
	
	 Expenditure in 2007-08
	The forecast expenditure for the Department and its agencies on voluntary staff exit schemes in 2007-08 is set out in the table.
	
		
			  Business  £ million 
			 The Pension Service 52.39 
			 Child Support Agency 3.71 
			 Disability and Carers Service 8.97 
			 The Appeals Service — 
			 Jobcentre Plus 28.15 
			 Health and Safety Executive 0 
			 The Rent Service 2.37 
			 Departmental Corporate Units 36.15 
			 Total 131.74 
			  Notes: 1. The Appeals Service is no longer an agency of the Department.  2. The forecast is based on the £176 million Early Release Fund budget already identified for businesses in 2007-08. Further funding is likely to become available and allocated at the start of the financial year. 
		
	
	 Other Notes:
	 3. Work and Pensions Committee—Jobcentre Plus
	The uncorrected evidence from Jobcentre Plus officials at the Work and Pensions Select Committee hearing on 15 January 2007 quoted expenditure on severance packages as being £185.5 million in 2005-06 with a forecast of £116 million in 2006-07. These figures relate to allocated funding for the year whereas the expenditure figures in the tables in the response reflect actual in year expenditure. Provision needs to be set aside from allocated funding for future Annual Compensation Payments even though such costs are not incurred in year. This ongoing provision accounts for the difference between the figures in the tables and the figures quoted in the evidence session held on 15 January.

Incapacity Benefit

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the ratio of incapacity benefit to median earnings in the UK was in each year from 1975-76 to 2005-06; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: Information is not available in the format requested. incapacity benefit, which replaced invalidity benefit and sickness benefit, was introduced in April 1995, and median earnings data from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) is only available from 1997.
	The National Statistics Annual Surveys of Hours and Earnings indicate that the ratio of long term incapacity benefit to gross weekly earnings for all employees has been broadly constant at about 22 per cent. since 1997.

Incapacity Benefit

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what research he has undertaken into the proportion of working age people in the UK on incapacity benefit in comparison with figures for other EU countries; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave him on 21 February 2007,  Official Report, columns 794-95W.

Incapacity Benefit

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of recipients of incapacity-related benefit received such benefit for  (a) mental illness and  (b) back pain in each year since 1979-80.

Anne McGuire: Information on back pain is not available prior to 1995. The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Proportion of invalidity benefit, incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance claimants with a primary diagnosis of back pain or mental and behavioural disorders at the dates shown 
			  Percentage 
			   Back pain  Mental and behavioural disorders 
			 May 1980 — 12.5 
			 May 1981 — 13.7 
			 May 1982 — 14.1 
			 April 1983 — 14.7 
			 March 1984 — 16.7 
			 March 1985 — 15.7 
			 April 1986 — 15.8 
			 April 1987 — 16.5 
			 April 1988 — 16.5 
			 April 1989 — 17.2 
			 March 1990 — 17.7 
			 March 1991 — 18.1 
			 April 1992 — 18.6 
			 April 1993 — 19.3 
			 April 1994 — 19.6 
			 August 1995 11.7 21.7 
			 August 1996 12.1 24.0 
			 August 1997 12.3 26.4 
			 August 1998 12.3 28.6 
			 August 1999 12.3 30.6 
			 August 2000 12.2 32.2 
			 August 2001 12.1 33.8 
			 August 2002 11.9 35.4 
			 August 2003 11.6 36.8 
			 August 2004 11.3 38.2 
			 August 2005 11.0 39.4 
			 August 2006 10.8 40.3 
			  Notes: 1. March 1980-April 1994 figures are based on a 1 per cent. sample, and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation. 2. August 1995-August 1998 (inclusive) percentages have been based on 5 per cent. sample figures uprated to 100 per cent. WPLS totals. 3. August 1999-August 2006 (inclusive) percentages are based on 100 per cent. WPLS figures. 4. Incapacity benefit figures include incapacity benefit credits-only cases. 5. Incapacity benefit replaced invalidity benefit and sickness benefit in April 1995.  Source: DWP Information Directorate 1 per cent. samples, 5 per cent. samples and 100 per cent. Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study

Jobcentre Plus

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the Jobcentre Plus offices which  (a) had their hours of opening to the public reduced and  (b) closed in each of the past four years, broken down by Parliamentary constituency.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 23 November 2006
	The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 7 March 2007:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking if he will list the Jobcentre Plus Offices which (a) had their hours of opening to the public reduced and (b) closed in each of the last four years, broken down by Parliamentary constituency. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	I enclose:
	Annex A which provides a list of the offices that reduced their opening hours to the public in the last four years; and
	Annex B which provides a list of the offices that have closed in the last four years.
	It is not possible to break these lists down by Parliamentary constituency. This information is provided at a Jobcentre Plus Regional level and is set out in the attached tables, copies of which have been placed in the Library.
	The list of closures should also be set against the 837 offices that we have rolled out to date under our restructuring programme, plus over 150 locations where we have installed flexible service delivery arrangements.
	I would emphasise that the closure of any of our offices involves consultation with local stakeholders, including MPs, and putting in place suitable alternative arrangements for delivering services to our customers.
	I hope this is helpful.

Jobcentre Plus

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were employed at each Jobcentre Plus in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Jim Murphy: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 7 March 2007:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking how many people were employed at each Jobcentre Plus in the most recent year for which figures are available. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The latest month for which actual information relating to this question is available is October 2006. The information has been placed in the Library and shows the actual number of people who work in Jobcentre Plus offices (Staff in Post) that have completed their transformation as part of the national roll out, and the number of full-time equivalent staff. I have not included those offices that have yet to convert.
	There are several sites which either show no staff are based there or have low numbers of staff. Those showing no staff based there are flexible delivery sites where staff from a nearby office open the site on a limited number of days each week. Sites that show low numbers of staff are either in rural areas providing a full Jobcentre Plus service or in urban areas providing Crisis Loan payments at a screened delivery point.

Jobcentre Plus: Violence against Staff

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many incidents of violence towards Job Centre Plus staff from clients receiving a decision on Social Fund Crisis funds were recorded in each year since 2003; and how many have been recorded in 2007;
	(2)  how many incidents of violence towards Job Centre Plus staff from clients were recorded in each year since 2003; and how many have been recorded in 2007.

Jim Murphy: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 7 March 2007:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions concerning incidents of violence towards Jobcentre Plus staff  (a) from customers receiving a decision on Social Fund Crisis funds and  (b) more generally in the delivery of our services. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The Agency has robust arrangements for collecting information following verbal, attempted, or actual assaults on our staff. As part of the incident reporting process, we ask our staff to categorise as near as they can the cause of an incident by selecting from a list. We do not have an exact match to the 'Social Fund Crisis funds' category in your question, but the second column of the table below shows where staff have selected the closest match—a category entitled 'Social Fund/Hardship claim dispute, e.g. eligibility, delays, demands'. The third column shows the total number of actual assaults against our staff during the period you state. Incidents relating to Social Fund/Hardship represent a small proportion of the total number of assaults.
	
		
			  Calendar year  Actual assaults—social fund  Total actual assaults 
			 2003 6 239 
			 2004 7 341 
			 2005 10 420 
			 2006 10 421 
			 2007 (to date) 0 3 
		
	
	We take the safety of our people very seriously. Customer-facing activity is thoroughly risk-assessed and control measures are in place to manage the risk in our offices. Whilst no assault is acceptable, our assault figures should be seen in the context not only of the millions of face to face contacts we have with customers each year, but also a more rigorous approach to reporting incidents being adopted. The likelihood of being subject to an actual assault in our offices is low: for example, in 2006, around one half of one percent of our staff reported such an incident.
	Moreover, the vast majority of these assaults do not result in any physical injury: fewer than 20 assaults each year result in injuries reported as 'more than minor cuts and bruises' and the number of injuries per year, unlike the wider reported trend, has not increased since 2003.

Parliamentary Questions

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will answer the Question tabled by the hon. Member for Twickenham on 17 November 2006, on bonus payments, reference 102054.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 11 January 2007
	I replied to the hon. Member's question on 31 January 2007,  Official Report, column 394W.

Pathways to Work

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Pathways to Work programmes are registered  (a) blind or partially sighted and  (b) deaf; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: Of the individuals who have entered Pathways to Work, there are 170 whose disability condition is recorded as 'blindness and low vision' and 160 whose disability condition is recorded as 'other hearing loss'.
	 Notes:
	1. The data on medical condition for Pathways to Work participants is incomplete. The reason for this is that it is drawn from incapacity benefit data that appears in the National Benefits Database (NBD). This impacts on the completeness of Pathways medical condition data in two ways. Firstly, NBD lags behind other Pathways Evaluation Database sources by some three to four months. Secondly, the NBD incapacity benefit data is based on a six-weekly snapshot, which means that some short-term claims of less than six weeks never appear. For this reason it is important that the above response should only be taken as an indication of Pathways activity for people with the specified disabilities. The NBD only records the individual's primary medical condition.
	2. Some individuals may not have been on Pathways long enough to attend a Work Focused Interview (WFI) or may have left Pathways before the initial WFI was due or may have had their initial WFI deferred or waived.
	3. The category of 'other hearing loss' is a sub-category of the International Classification of Diseases, 10(th )Revision, condition 'Diseases of the Ear and Mastoid Process'. The majority of people who are deaf would come under this subcategory.
	 Source:
	Pathways to Work Evaluation Database.
	Data is to the end of June 2006.
	Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.

Unemployed Disabled People

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people who are  (a) blind or partially sighted and  (b) deaf and are in a Pathways to Work pilot programme (i) have received and (ii) are receiving (A) job search and (B) rehabilitation support; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: Of the 170 individuals whose disability condition is recorded as 'blindness and low vision' and who have entered Pathways to Work,90 have received or are receiving job search support.
	Of the 160 Individuals whose disability condition is recorded as 'other hearing loss' and who have entered Pathways to Work, 80 have received or are receiving job search support.
	The numbers given for individuals receiving job search support are those who have attended a Work Focused Interview and/or participating in the New Deal for Disabled People. As end dates for individuals on Pathways to Work or on New Deal for Disabled People are not recorded, it is not possible to make a distinction between those who have received and those who are receiving any of these support.
	No data are collected on those who have received or are receiving rehabilitation support.
	 Notes:
	1. The data on medical conditions for Pathways to Work participants are incomplete. The reason for this is drawn from incapacity benefit data that appears in the National Benefits Database (NBD). This impacts on the completeness of Pathways medical condition data in two ways. Firstly, NBD lags behind other Pathways Evaluation Database sources by some three to four months. Secondly, the NBD incapacity benefit data are based on a six weekly snapshot, which means that some short-term claims of less than six weeks never appear. For this reason it is important that the above response should only be taken as an indication of Pathways activity for people with specified disabilities. The NBD only records the individual's primary medical condition.
	2. Numbers for individuals receiving rehabilitation support could only be calculated as the number of individuals referred to the Condition Management Programme (CMP) but no data are collected on when an individual starts or ends CMP.
	3. Some individuals may not have been n Pathways long enough to attend a Work Focused Interview (WFI) or may have left Pathways before the initial WFI was due or may have had their initial WFI deferred or waived.
	4. The category of 'other hearing loss' is a sub-category of the International Classification of Disease, 10(th) Revision, condition 'Diseases of the Ear and Mastoid Process'. The majority of people who are deaf would come under this category.
	 Source:
	Pathways to Work Evaluation Database.
	Data are to the end of June 2006.
	Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.

Accident and Emergency Departments

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many accident and emergency departments, there were in England in  (a) 1997,  (b) 2001 and  (c) the latest period for which figures are available, broken down by type; what forecasts she has made of the number and type of accident and emergency departments that will be required in (i) 2008 and (ii) 2010; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: National health service trusts self-report the number of accident and emergency (A&E) departments they provide against definitions provided by the Department for each type of A&E on a quarterly basis. The information available is provided in the following table:
	
		
			   2000-01  2006-07 
			 Number of type one (major) A&E departments 201 204 
			 Number of type two (single specialty) A&E departments 34 68 
			 Number of type three A&E departments (minor injury and illness services, including minor injury units and walk-in centres) 207 287 
			  Notes: QMAE dataset used for 2006-07 figures. KH03 dataset and walk-in centre monthly report used for 2000-01 figures Position is at end of March for 2000-01, but end December for 2006-07  Source: Department of Health QMAE dataset, KH03 dataset and walk-in centre monthly service report. 
		
	
	Prior to 2000-01, trusts submitted written information on whether or not they provided any A&E services. They did not provide a count of the number of services provided. This pre-2000-01 trust data is available at:
	www.performance.doh.gov.uk/hospitalactivity
	It is a matter for the local NHS to ensure that there is appropriate provision of urgent and emergency care services, including A&E facilities, that are responsive to people's needs. As the number of services required is not centrally determined, no forecast of numbers for 2008 and 2010 are available.

Alcoholic Drinks: Excise Duties

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the merits of raising the duty on alcohol sold by  (a) supermarkets and  (b) off-licences;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the public health effects of a rise in the average per unit cost of alcohol sold by  (a) supermarkets and  (b) off-licences.

Caroline Flint: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has regular meetings with the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Treasury Ministers on a wide range of issues.
	All taxes and duty rates are kept under review by the HM Treasury and are considered by the Chancellor as part of the budget process.

Avian Influenza

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many tonnes of  (a) raw and  (b) processed meat passed into the food chain from the Bernard Matthews plant in Suffolk after the announcement of the outbreak of avian influenza there.

Caroline Flint: The Food Standards Agency informs me that their enquiries have shown that, from the announcement of the confirmation of the outbreak of avian influenza at 10.00 pm on 2 February 2007, until the resumption of production on 12 February 2007 the total tonnage of raw and processed poultry meat entering the food chain was:
	Turkey 850 tons; and
	Chicken 50 tons.
	All this meat was from birds slaughtered prior to2 February and none of it came from birds from the infected premises.

Carers

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress she is making towards meeting the commitment made in paragraph 5.55 of her Department's Primary Care White Paper, Our Health, Our Care, Our Say, published 30 January 2006, Cm 6737, for short-term, home-based respite support to be established for carers in crisis and emergency situations in each council area in England.

Ivan Lewis: The Department unveiled a multi-million pound package of support for carers on21 March 2007. This included £25 million to be divided between councils and spent on providing short-term home based breaks for carers in crisis or emergency situations.

County Durham and Darlington Acute Hospitals NHS Trust

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment she has made of waiting times in the County Durham and Darlington Acute Hospital Trust area.

Andy Burnham: The following table shows the provider based waiting time information for County Durham and Darlington Acute Hospitals National Health Service Trust as at end of December 2006.
	
		
			  Stage of treatment  Total waiting  Median(weeks)  Number waiting over 13 weeks  Number waiting over 26 weeks  Number waiting over 52 weeks 
			 Inpatient admission 5,092 5.8 839 0 n/a 
			 Outpatient appointment 6,467 3.2 0 0 n/a 
			 Diagnostic test 8,127 8.3 3,574 2,627 1,061 
			  Source: Department of Health, KH07, QM08 and DM01

Dental Services

David Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists there are in  (a) England and  (b) Somerset; how many accept new (i) NHS and (ii) private patients; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 6 March 2007
	Data on dentists accepting new national health service and private patients are not collected centrally.
	Information on the dental workforce under the new dental contractual arrangements, introduced on 1 April 2006, is published at every quarter by The Information Centre for health and social care. The latest information is as at 30 September 2006 and is provided in the following table, with the primary care trust (PCT) boundaries as at 30 September 2006.
	The Information Centre for health and social care will publish information as at 30 June, 30 September and 31 December 2006 by the new PCT boundaries (PCT boundaries as at 1 October 2006) on 23 March 2007.
	
		
			  Numbers of dentists (performers) on open NHS contracts in England and within the specified PCTs as at 30 September 2006 
			   Number 
			 England 20,285 
			 Mendip PCT 48 
			 Somerset Coast PCT 51 
			 South Somerset PCT 94 
			 Taunton Deane PCT 63 
			  Notes: 1. A performer is defined as a dentist who has been set up on the BSA's payments online (POL) system by the PCT to work under an open contract during the relevant period. 2. Data provided are a count of the individuals listed as performers on open contracts within a PCT, including orthodontists. 3. In some cases an NHS dentist may be listed to carry out NHS work but may not do so for a given period. 4. Dentists will be counted more than once if they have contracts in more than one PCT. The England total excludes duplication. 5. The PCTs listed are those that now form Somerset PCT as a result of the 1 October 2006 PCT boundary changes.  Sources:  The Information Centre for health and social care NHS Business Services Authority (BSA)

Departments: Pay

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total sum of bonuses paid to civil servants in her Department was in  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2006.

Ivan Lewis: The total sum of bonuses paid to civil servants in the Department for financial years 2005-06 and 2006-07, is shown in the table.
	
		
			   £ 
			 2005-06 1,336,649.43 
			 2006-07(1) 1,432,244.37 
			 (1 )Year to date figure (April 2006 to January 2007)

Departments: Sick Leave

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were away on sick leave from her Department for more than  (a) three months,  (b) six months,  (c) nine months and  (d) one year in each of the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: The number of people who were away on sick leave for more then three months, six months, nine months and one year, in each of the last five years is detailed as follows:
	
		
			   2003  2004  2005  2006 
			  More than: 
			 3 months 52 105 59 111 
			 6 months 20 56 27 46 
			 9 months 10 26 15 33 
			 1 year 8 19 10 26 
			  Notes:  Figures for 2002 are not available. As the analysis for 2006 figures was carried out until the end of December 2006, absences of over three months but continuing beyond 31 December 2006 are recorded against 2006, even though they will finish in 2007 or later and will finally be recorded against the year in which they end. As such the 2006 figures are artificially inflated.

Health Services: EC Action

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what aspects of public health promotion are within the competency of the European Union.

Caroline Flint: Most competence for action in the field of public health remains with the member states, but the European Union has the responsibility, set out in the treaty, to undertake certain actions which complement the work done by member states.
	Article 152 of the EC treaty covers public health. It states that a high level of human health protection shall be ensured in the definition and implementation of all community policies and activities; and that community action should be directed towards improving public health, preventing human illness and diseases, and obviating sources of danger to human health and complement national policies. The article also encourages co-operation between the community and member states on public health.
	In practice, EU work on public health often focuses on facilitating the exchange of information, knowledge and best practice between member states and covers many issues, from the general (eg health inequalities) to the specific (eg, action on alcohol use). Article 152(4) also sets out specific areas, e.g. standards for quality and safety for blood, in which legislative measures can be adopted by the Commission in this field. EU legislation that has a beneficial effect on public health has also been adopted on the basis of other parts of the treaty (eg, tobacco packaging legislation, based on Article 95 which relates to the internal market).

Health: Disadvantaged

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment she has made of changes in health inequality between people in each income decile since 1996-97; what targets she has set in relation to reducing health outcome inequalities; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: There are no recent assessments of changes in health inequality between people by income decile since 1996-97. The information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The following tables show the targets the Government have set in relation to reducing health outcome inequalities.
	Health inequalities are unacceptable and tackling them is a top priority for the Government. We have established the most comprehensive programme ever in this country to address them, including a range of challenging targets.
	
		
			  Departmental public service agreement (PSA) targets, Spending Review (SR) 2002 
			  PSA target  Measure 
			  Target 11  
			 By 2010 reduce inequalities in health outcomes by 10 per cent. as measured by infant mortality and life expectancy at birth Mortality in infancy by social class: the gap in infant mortality between "routine and manual" groups and the population as a whole 
			  Life expectancy by local authority: the gap between the fifth of areas with the lowest life expectancy at birth and the population as a whole 
			  Baseline year is average of 1997, 1998 and 1999 
		
	
	
		
			  Departmental PSA targets, SR2004 
			  PSA target  Measure 
			  Target 1  
			 Substantially reduce mortality rates by 2010. From heart disease and stroke and related diseases by at least 40 per cent. in people under 75, with a 40 per cent. reduction in the inequalities gap between the fifth of areas with the worst health and deprivation indicators (the Spearhead Group) and the population as a whole Death rate from heart disease, strokes and related illnesses among people aged under 75. 
			 From cancer by at least 20 per cent. in people under 75 with at least a reduction in the inequalities gap of at least 6 per cent. between the fifth of areas with the worst health and deprivation indicators (the Spearhead Group) and the population as a whole Death rate from cancer among people aged under 75. 
			   
			  Target 2  
			 Reduce health inequalities by 10 per cent. by 2010 as measured by infant mortality and life expectancy at birth Mortality in infancy by social class: the gap in infant mortality between "routine and manual" groups and the population as a whole 
			  Baseline is average of 1997, 1998 and 1999 
			  Life expectancy by local authority: the gap between the fifth of areas with the "worst health and deprivation indicators" (the Spearhead Group) and the population as a whole 
			  Baseline year is average of 1995, 1996 and 1997 
			   
			  Target 3  
			  Tackle the underlying determinants of health and health inequalities by:  
			 Reducing adult smoking rates to 21 per cent. or less by 2010, with a reduction in prevalence among routine and manual groups to 26 per cent. or less Smoking: reduction in numbers of adult (26 per cent.) and routine/manual (31 per cent.) groups of smokers (2002-03 baselines). Prevalence from General Household survey 
			 Halting the year-on-year rise in obesity among children under 11 by 2010, in the context of a broader strategy to tackle obesity in the population as a whole (joint target with the Department for Education and Skills and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport). Obesity: prevalence of obesity as defined by National BMI percentile classification for children aged between two and 10 years (inclusive) measured through the Health Survey for England. Baseline year is weighted average for three-year period 2002-04 
			 Reducing the under 18 conception rate by 50 per cent. by 2010, as part of a broader strategy to improve sexual health (joint target with the Department for Education and Skills) Teenage conceptions: the under 18 conception rate is the number of conceptions to under 18-year-olds per thousand females aged 15-17. Baseline year is 1998. ONS Conception Statistics

Independent Treatment Centres

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 8 November 2006,  Official Report, columns 1824-25W, on independent treatment centres, what the utilisation rate of independent sector treatment centres was in each month since June 2006.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		
			  2006  Independent sector treatment centre utilisation (percentage) 
			 July 87 
			 August 84 
			 September 83 
			  Notes: 1. Figures include the mobile ophthalmology service but exclude the general supplementary contracts, the national contract for MRI services, and the pathfinder schemes. Utilisation is measured on the basis of value rather than activity to allow for the variations which can occur through substitution of activity between procedures of varying value. 2. Figures are subject to the reconciliation of some contracts. 3. The Department procured independent sector capacity on the basis of capacity planning exercises conducted through strategic health authorities where the additional capacity in elective treatment and diagnostics required to meet key public service agreement waiting times targets was estimated. Where the estimates of demand have not been met so far in a contract the Department is working with the national health service and independent providers to ensure contracts deliver best value over the life of the contract.

Infection Control

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will estimate the average cost of treating an episode of infection by  (a) methicillin-resistant  Staphylococcus aureus and  (b) Clostridium difficile; and what her most recent estimate is of the overall cost in a year of treating healthcare-associated infections in the NHS.

Ivan Lewis: Precise data is not available.

Maternity Services: Manpower

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what projections her Department has made of the number of  (a) midwives,  (b) consultant obstetricians and  (c) consultant gynaecologists required within the NHS over the next 10 years;
	(2)  how many  (a) midwives,  (b) consultant obstetricians and  (c) consultant gynaecologists have been trained since 1997; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  how many  (a) midwives,  (b) consultant obstetricians and  (c) consultant gynaecologists there are in each region covered by strategic health authorities; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Local national health service organisations are responsible for developing maternity services in response to the needs of their local population, and for ensuring that they have sufficient staff, with the right skills, to offer appropriate choices.
	The number of registrar group doctors in obstetrics and gynaecology in each year since 1997 is shown in the following table. These are the doctors training to be consultants.
	
		
			  Hospital and community health services (HCHS): registrar group doctors within the obstetrics and gynaecology specialty England—as at 30 September each year 
			   Registrar group 
			 1997 919 
			 1998 944 
			 1999 1,001 
			 2000 939 
			 2001 950 
			 2002 1,014 
			 2003 973 
			 2004 1,099 
			 2005 1,290 
			  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care—Medical and Dental Workforce Census 
		
	
	The number of midwives entering training in each year since 1997 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Degree  Diploma  Other  Total 
			 1996-97 161 498 993 1,652 
			 1999-2000 395 620 757 1,772 
			 2001-02 621 525 732 1,878 
			 2002-03 709 724 677 2,110 
			 2003-04 753 716 757 2,226 
			 2004-05 895 744 735 2,374 
			 2005-06 1,042 517 661 2,220 
			  Source: Quarterly Monitoring Returns 
		
	
	The number of midwives and consultants in obstetrics and gynaecology in each strategic health authority is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Headcount 
			   Consultants in obstetrics and gynaecology  Qualified midwifery staff 
			 England 1,458 24,808 
			 North East Strategic Health Authority area 95 1,274 
			 North West Strategic Health Authority area 195 3,887 
			 Yorkshire and Humber Strategic Health Authority area 149 2,539 
			 East Midlands Strategic Health Authority area 104 1,757 
			 West Midlands Strategic Health Authority area 149 2,816 
			 East of England Strategic Authority area 126 2,352 
			 London Strategic Health Authority area 315 4,338 
			 South East Strategic Authority area 107 1,779 
			 South Central Strategic Health Authority area 92 1,644 
			 South West Strategic Health Authority area 126 2,422 
			  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care medical and dental and non-medical workforce census

Mental Health Services

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 22 February 2007,  Official Report, column 944W, on mental health services, which mental health trusts were found not to have contributed disproportionately to savings made by the local health economy in 2006-07 following investigation by her Department's recovery and support unit.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 5 March 2007
	The trusts that I referred to in my previous reply to the hon. Member were Berkshire Healthcare National Health Service Trust, North Essex Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Trust, Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Trust.

MRSA: North East Region

John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of MRSA were recorded in  (a) Sunderland Royal Hospital,  (b) Hartlepool University Hospital and  (c) Durham University Hospital in (i) 2004, (ii) 2005 and (iii) 2006; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The number of reports of meticillin resistant  Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteraemia recorded at the City Hospitals Sunderland National Health Service Foundation Trust, County Durham and Darlington Acute Hospitals NHS Trust and the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust from April 2004 to September 2006 is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Numbers of MRSA bacteraemias April 2004-September 2006 
			  Acute hospital trust  April 2004-March 2005  April 2005-March 2006  April-September 2006 
			 City Hospitals Sunderland 47 47 22 
			 North Tees and Hartlepool 13 30 21 
			 County Durham and Darlington 47 36 29 
			  Note: Information on MRSA bacteraemia in individual hospitals is not published routinely, as it has only been collected at hospital level since October 2005. Prior to this date numbers of MRSA bacteraemia were recorded six-monthly by NHS acute trust only. The Department and the Health Protection Agency are currently considering the publication of the more detailed data, gained through the enhanced recording system.  Source: Health Protection Agency (HPA) 
		
	
	Tackling MRSA is a priority for both the Government and the NHS. A target has been set to halve the number of MRSA bloodstream infections by 2008 with each NHS acute trust having its own target to achieve. The latest data showing MRSA numbers between January to September 2006 was published by the HPA on 30 January 2007.

National Blood Service: Reorganisation

Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the effect on staff of the way in which changes to the National Blood Service estate were communicated to them.

Caroline Flint: The National Blood Service (NBS) has established a group comprising of senior managers and staff-side representatives to discuss the implications of the changes and how to implement policies designed to reduce any adverse impact on staff, such as redeployment. The NBS expect to manage many of the post reductions through natural turnover and reduce the impact on staff to the absolute minimum.

National Patient Safety Agency

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much salary the joint chief executives of the National Patient Safety Agency have received since they stopped work; how much salary has been paid in that period to the acting Chief Executive; and what the cost is of the retirement packages for the joint chief executives.

Ivan Lewis: The joint chief executives have each received a salary of £53,481 from 7 July 2006 to the end January 2007. They will receive a further £7,912 each per month for February and March 2007. They retire on 31 March 2007. The cost of the early retirement has yet to be finalised.
	In the interim period and up to the end of January 2007 the acting chief executive has received a salary of £78,419.

National Patient Safety Agency

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans she has for the National Patient Safety Agency; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps have been taken to address the concerns set out in the Public Accounts Committee report on the National Patient Safety Agency in 2006.

Ivan Lewis: Following the publication of the National Audit Office report "A safer place for patients: learning to improve patient safety in November 2005", the Chief Medical Officer commissioned a review of the organisational arrangements in place to support patient safety. It was explicitly aimed at addressing the issues raised in the NAO report and its concerns with the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA), as well as looking at the national health service's approach to patient safety more widely.
	The resulting report "Safety first: A report for patients, clinicians and healthcare managers" was published in December 2006 and is available in the Library. It makes fourteen recommendations including the following about the NPSA's core function:
	"The role of the NPSA should be refocused on its core objective of collecting and analysing patient safety data to inform rapid patient safety learning, priority setting and coordinated activity across the NHS. A number of current functions, for example the development of technical solutions to improve patient safety, presently delivered by the organisation should in future be commissioned from other expert organisations with the requisite expertise"
	The Department is working closely with the agency in taking forward this and other recommendations in which the agency has an interest.
	The agency will continue to have responsibility for the additional functions that it took on following the review of arms length bodies in 2005. These include work on safety aspects of hospital design, cleanliness and food; the Central Office for Research Ethics Committees the National Clinical Assessment Service and managing the contracts of the three national confidential enquiries.

NHS Bank

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS Bank  (a) received,  (b) loaned and  (c) recovered in each year since it was established; and if she will make a statement on its operation.

Andy Burnham: The NHS Bank is funded from a central allocation from the Department of Health. The contributions received and repayments made by strategic health authority (SHA) in each year since 2002 are set out as follows:
	
		
			  NHS special assistance funding provided 
			  £ million 
			   Avon Gloucester and Wiltshire  Surrey and Sussex  Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire  Thames Valley  Kent and Medway  Total 
			 2002-03 45 30 25 — — 100 
			 2003-04 70 40 — 25 17 152 
			 2004-05 40 20 — 10 — 70 
			 2005-06 20 — — — (8) 12 
			 2006-07 — (7) — (5) — (12) 
			  175 83 25 30 9 322 
		
	
	In addition to the distribution of special assistance funding, the NHS Bank also managed the brokerage of cash and capital resources between SHAs, from its inception in 2003 until 2005-06. The NHS Bank provided funding to SHAs only. The Bank does not provide repayable loans to PCTs and NHS trusts. The distribution of funding to individual organisations is the responsibility of the relevant SHA.
	Any cash contributed from, or received by, an SHA under these arrangements was returnable in full in the following financial year. In addition, a one-off cash rebasing was carried out in 2003-04 that was not returnable the following year. The following table summarise all brokerage and cash rebasing that was managed through the NHS Bank.
	
		
			  NHS cash brokerage 
			  £ million 
			Brokerage received  Brokerage issued  Net position 
			 2003-04 New brokerage 170 483 313 
			  Cash Rebasing — 212 212 
			 2004-05 Prior yr reversal 483 170 313 
			  New brokerage 410 317 93 
			 2005-06 Prior yr reversal 317 410 93 
			  New brokerage 372 660 288 
			   660 372 288 
		
	
	From 2006-07, cash support to NHS trusts will be provided by interest bearing loans and deposits issued by the Department.

NHS: Low Incomes

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people participated in the NHS low income scheme in each of the last five years; how the scheme is promoted; how many patients it is estimated were entitled to assistance but did not receive it in the last 12 months; how much the scheme cost to operate in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The estimated number of people who have made a national health service low income scheme claim in England and the estimated cost of operating the scheme is in the table. The number of claims has been estimated from annual samples.
	
		
			   Estimated number of low income scheme HC1 claims for England (thousand)  Estimated direct cost per claim to operate the scheme (£) 
			 2005-06 451 5.72 
			 2004-05 490 5.56 
			 2003-04 616 5.24 
			 2002-03 666 5.28 
			 2001-02 733 4.82 
			  Source: Prescription Pricing Division (PPD) of the NHS Business Services Authority 
		
	
	In addition the low income scheme provides income-related help to recipients of income support, income based jobseekers allowance, pension credit guarantee credit and child tax credit or working tax credit with a disability or severe disability element whose gross annual income is £15,050 or less. They do not need to make a separate HC1 claim.
	No separate assessment has been made of the number of people who would have been entitled to assistance but did not make an HC1 claim during the previous 12 months.
	The Prescription Pricing Division (PPD) of the NHS Business Services Authority operates the scheme in respect of England, Scotland and Wales and is responsible for publicising the scheme in England on behalf of the Department of Health. Information is provided in leaflet "HC11—Help With Health Costs" which is available from Jobcentre Plus offices and NHS hospitals. Dentists, opticians, pharmacists and doctors may also provide them. PPD produces a poster for general display and, with the National Union of Students, a poster for display in higher educational establishments. In addition, PPD has commissioned a series of advertisements which are soon to appear in popular magazines.

Nurses: Pay

Shahid Malik: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on nurses between  (a) 1987 and 1997 and  (b) 1997 and 2007.

Rosie Winterton: The following table, shows data for 14 years from 1991-92 to 2005-06 (the earliest and latest years for which this information is available).
	
		
			  Expenditure on Nurses for NHS trusts, health authorities, primary care trusts and strategic health authorities from 1991-92 to 2005-06 
			  £000 
			   Trust  DHA/HA  PCT  SHA  Total 
			 1991-92 764,865 5,110,049 — — 5,874,914 
			 1992-93 2,091,859 4,139,133 — — 6,230,992 
			 1993-94 3,962,279 2,277,884 — — 6,240,163 
			 1994-95 5,907,734 409,133 — — 6,316,867 
			 1995-96 6,297,498 86,582 — — 6,384,080 
			 1996-97 6,475,855 10,027 — — 6,485,882 
			 1997-98 6,623,914 7,467 — — 6,631,381 
			 1998-99 6,974,053 8,037 — — 6,982,090 
			 1999-2000 7,681,445 10,484 — — 7,691,929 
			 2000-01 8,248,441 13,266 76,136 — 8,337,843 
			 2001-02 8,546,046 19,099 814,552 — 9,379,697 
			 2002-03 8,223,334 — 2,008,043 1,125 10,232,502 
			 2003-04 8,735,051 — 2,159,738 1,333 10,896,122 
			 2004-05 8,740,904 — 2,470,142 1,711 11,212,757 
			 2005-06 8,793,091 — 2,727,585 1,373 11,522,049 
			  Note:  Excludes NHS Foundation Trusts 2004-05 to 2005-06  Sources: NHS Trusts Financial Returns 1991-92 to 2005-06 Health Authorities Financial Returns 1996-97 to 2001-02 Primary Care Trusts Financial Returns 2000-01 to 2005-06 Strategic Health Authorities Financial Returns 2002-03 to 2005-06 Regional and District Health Authorities for the London postgraduate teaching hospitals Financial Returns 1991-92 to 1995-96

Royal Preston Hospital: Waiting Lists

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time was for  (a) inpatient,  (b) day cases and  (c) outpatient appointments in Royal Preston hospital in each year since 1992.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Median waiting time (weeks) 
			  Organisation  Chorley and South Ribble NHS Trust 
			  Year  Month  Inpatient ordinary admission  Inpatient daycase admission  First outpatient appointment 
			 1994 March 19.6 7.7 6.5 
			 1995 March 11.4 8.6 7.3 
			 1996 March 12.4 7.9 7.6 
			 1997 March 13.3 10.3 7.3 
			 1998 March 12.5 10.0 8.3 
			 1999 March 15.9 10.8 7.0 
			 2000 March 14.1 9.1 8.9 
			 2001 March n/a n/a n/a 
			 2002 March n/a n/a n/a 
			 2003 March n/a n/a n/a 
			 2004 March n/a n/a n/a 
			 2005 March n/a n/a n/a 
			 2006 March n/a n/a n/a 
			 2006 December n/a n/a n/a 
		
	
	
		
			Preston Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 
			  Year  Month  Inpatient ordinary admission  Inpatient daycase admission  Outpatient appointment 
			 1994 March n/a n/a n/a 
			 1995 March 17.2 12.9 8.2 
			 1996 March 16.2 13.1 5.6 
			 1997 March 17.5 13.0 6.2 
			 1998 March 17.8 11.9 7.5 
			 1999 March 16.3 10.1 8.3 
			 2000 March 12.9 10.0 8.0 
			 2001 March 12.6 9.5 7.7 
			 2002 March 12.0 9.6 8.6 
			 2003 March n/a n/a n/a 
			 2004 March n/a n/a n/a 
			 2005 March n/a n/a n/a 
			 2006 March n/a n/a n/a 
			 2006 December n/a n/a n/a 
		
	
	
		
			Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 
			  Year  Month  Inpatient ordinary admission  Inpatient daycase admission  First outpatient appointment 
			 1994 March n/a n/a n/a 
			 1995 March n/a n/a n/a 
			 1996 March n/a n/a n/a 
			 1997 March n/a n/a n/a 
			 1998 March n/a n/a n/a 
			 1999 March n/a n/a n/a 
			 2000 March n/a n/a n/a 
			 2001 March n/a n/a n/a 
			 2002 March n/a n/a n/a 
			 2003 March 11.8 9.3 7.4 
			 2004 March 12.0 8.9 7.0 
			 2005 March 9.5 7.7 7.1 
			 2006 March 9.1 7.2 6.6 
			 2006 December 8.4 5.9 5.3 
			  Notes: Inpatient waiting time based on median wait of those still waiting at end of period. Outpatient waiting times based on time waited for those seen during the quarter. Prior to the financial year 2000-01, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust existed as two separate trusts—Chorley and South Ribble NHS Trust and Preston Acute Hospitals NHS Trust. In 2000-01 these trusts merged (with part of Chorley being allocated to another trust), keeping the name Preston Acute Hospitals NHS Trust. In the financial year 2002-03, this became Lancashire Teaching Hospitals.  Sources: Department of Health, KHO7 and QMOSs

Southampton General Hospital

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether Southampton General Hospital has signed an exclusivity agreement with a company to provide food from two outlets on the site; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: Guidance published by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in December 2006 makes it clear that the national health service should set an example in developing public health policies, including promoting healthy food and drink choices. This will include restaurants, vending machines and other food outlets whether directly provided by the organisation or by third parties.
	NHS trusts are locally responsible for decisions relating to the provision of all food to patients, staff and visitors. NHS trusts are encouraged to generate income by making best use of their assets and this can include the provision of retail services of the type to which you refer in your parliamentary question. The precise contractual arrangements will depend on the individual scheme and the local situation.